PRESENTED BY 

JUDGE and IIS. ISAAC R. MITT, 

Washington, d. c. 

-1931- 



i> 




PRESENTED BY 



\ %M 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 



" I have read this book with great profit, and if it were in my power 
would place a copy on the study table of every young preacher in the 
connection." — Rev. George Hughes. 

" This work aims at no profound disquisition, no original views, no 
novel theology. It is a plain, clear statement of the doctrine of Christian 
holiness as held in our Church. He who will read this work will see that 
what we hold all go~od men may." — Edward Thompson, D. D., Editor of 
tlie Christian Advocate and Journal, (now Bishop.) 

" This is a complete hand-book of the subject on which it treats. Its 
theology is Wesleyan. Its arrangement is logical. Its style is lucid, and 
its spirit is admirable. May God bless this work to the souls of thou- 
sands." — Wilber Fisk WatJcins, Pastor of Washington St. M. E. Church, 
Brooklyn, New York. 

" We commend this book to the humble inquirer after truth. We read 
it, and our piety grows warm as we read." — Rev. I. S. Bingham, Editor 
of the Northern Christian Advocate. 

" A pointed, pithy, searching work, embracing a complete compen- 
dium of matters referring to the subject of full salvation. The sale of 
ten editions s)nce the fall of Fort Sumpter is no small proof of its merit. 
We warmly recommend it to those who feel interested in the subject on 
which it treats. It is just the book." — Editor of the Guide to Holiness. 

" The author of this work presents the doctrine of Christian holiness 
in so clear a manner, that it seems impossible for any converted person 
who reads this book to misunderstand it. We cordially recommend it 
to all our readers." — Earnest Christian and Golden Ride. 

" The author of this work is sound in his doctrines, according to the 
approved Methodistic standards. There is a convenience in the arrange- 
ment of this work that is rare and valuable, and also a freshness about it 
that is truly refreshing." — Rev. William Reddy, of the Oneida Annual Con. 

i 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 

"This is a plain, clear, searching work, and will do any man good 
who will read it." — Rev. Fay H. Pnrdy. 

" This is a live book, written by a live man, on a live subject. Just the 
book for about 600,000 in our beloved Zion, who ought to cross over and 
cuter the Canaan of 6 Perfect Love 'at once." — Rev. E. Owen, of the 
Oneida Con. 

n The author of this work has collected and presents a vast amount of 
practical hints and instructions on many points connected with this im- 
portant subject." — Rev. Mansfield French, late Editor of the Beauty oj 
Holiness* 

" This book was greatly needed. Though it is eminently practical, it 
contains an admirable defence of the doctrine of Christian holiness, and 
a summary of Methodist authorities upon the subject. It answers just 
those questions which seekers of Full Salvation are wont to ask. It will 
do any one good to read it." — D. W. 0. Huntington, Pastor of Asbury 
M. E. Church, Rochester, JST. Y. 

" I have read with great satisfaction c Perfect Love,' by Rev. J. A. 
Wood, and must say, that in my judgment it will do good wherever 
read." — Benjamin M. Adams, Pastor of Fleet St. M. E. Church, Brook- 
lyn, isr. y. 

"I have read this book with deep interest and profit. It is the best 
exposition of the doctrine of entire sanctification, and best compilation 
of Wesleyan authorities on this subject that I have seen. It is a book 
for the people ; and cannot fail of doing immense good."— Geo. A. Hub- 
bell, Pastor of Forsyth St. M. E. Church, N. Y. 

" This is the best work on Christian perfection that I am conversant 
with ; hoping that God will bless it to the heart of thousands, I cheer- 
fully recommend it." — Rev. T. B. Miller, of the PhiVa Con, 

""We have read this book with much interest and profit, and most 
heartily recoil mend it to all who ' hunger and thirst after righteousness. ' 
We believe it^vJl do any man good who will read it." — Editor of the 
United States Economist. 

" This is one of the very best books on Christian holiness that has yet 
fallen into my hands. T /e author seems to have covered the ground 
without shading it, and : nakes manna on the pious heart from a cloud 
less and serene sky." — Rev. Lor an Stiles. 
ii 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 

*" This book fully and explicitly states, explains and defends the doc- 
trines, experience and practice of Christian holiness. It breathes a 
heavenly spirit, and must produce a holy influence upon the Church and 
the world. Secure it, read it, and practice it." — Rev. E. Davies. 

" This work is one of the very best x. tave yet seen. The direct method 
in which all the various points it treats of are presented and the satisfac- 
tory answers it gives to almost every conceivable question that arises in 
ordinary minds in regard to this all-absorbinir subject, makes it a work 
of rare merit and utility." — J. S. Inskip, Pastor of Green St. M. E. 
Church, N. Y. 

"All who have read this work consider it as one of the best that has 
been written on this subject." — Foster & Palmer, Publishers of Guide and 
Beauty of Holiness, 

" The volume entitled c Perfect Love ' is a heart-warmer to the minis- 
ter ; a mine of purest gospel ore to the mature in faith ; a safe guide to 
the inquirer after Christian holiness ; and to young converts, the best 
incentive to c go on to perfection.' I know its value, and with all my 
heart commend its perusal to others." — A. Wallace, Pastor Salem M. E. 
Church, Philadelphia. 

"I regard this as the best hand-book for the seeker of c Perfect Love,' 
or the experienced walker in the way of holiness, which has been issued 
from the press in many years ; because of 

1. The simplicity of its method. 

2. The plainness and obviousness of its verbiage. 

3. The tenacity with which the author has clung to unquestioned 
Bible and theological authority. 

4. The absence from it of all metaphysical speculations. 

5. The tone of earnestness and heart which pervades it. 

6. Because, while the spirit of devotion glows on every page, it meets 
triumphantly each of the hurtful errors that have crept, in late years, 
into many churches, on the doctrine of holiness, and is therefore emi- 
nently a book for the times. It is a book full of the ' old wine ;' and, 
thank God, our people are still saying by tens of thousands ' the old is 
is the better. 9 "—P. Weed Gorham, Pastor of St. PawVs M. E. Church, 
Lynn, Massachusetts. 

ill 




^g i l3 r A.H.'Biti3Be. 




PERFECT LOVE; 




-1! 



PLAIN THINGS FOR THOSE WHO NEED THEM; 



CONCERNING THE 



DOCTRINE, EXPERIENCE, PROFESSION, AND PRACTICE 



CHRISTIAN HOLINESS. 



BT 



J. A. WOOD, 



•* Be te holy, for i am holt." Piter. 
" Perfect love casteth out fear." John. 
" Blessed are the pure in heart." Je*n4. 
w For this is the will of God, etsh your 

8ANCTIFICATIOS." PduL 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BT 

SAMUEL D. BURLOCK, 217 and 219 QUINCE ST. 

NEW YORK: 

FOR SALE BY W. C. PALMER Jr., 

14 Bible House. 

philadelphia: 

FOE SALE AT THB METHODIST EPISCOPAL BOOK BOOM, 

1018 Arch Street. 






Entered according to let of Congress, in the year 1861, by 

J A . W G G I> , 

In the Cierfc-8 Oftice of the District Court of the District of Masaachnsotta. 



Gift from 
Judge and Mrs. Isaac R. Hitt 
Nov. 17, 1S31 



PREFACE. 



The following pages are designed for the especial benefit 
of those believers in the church of God who are " hungering 
and thirsting after righteousness," and are seeking light con- 
cerning the doctrine, experience, profession, and practice of 
Christian holiness. 

During the brief years of my ministry, and especially since 
it pleased the Saviour to cleanse my poor heart from all sirs 
I have found multitudes who have desired to ask many ques- 
tions concerning this subject. ■ I have found it no small tax 
upon my time, in pastoral labor, to rectify mistakes, meet ob- 
jections, and answer interrogations respecting this subject. * I 
have often been grieved and astonished at the amount of 
carelessness, opposition, unbelief, and ignorance, I have found 
in regard to it. 

To save time, to present the plain truth, to remove preju- 
dice, and to encourage effort for the attainment of Christian 
holiness, are the aims of this book. It is with prayerful and 
peculiar feelings that these pages have been published — feel- 
ings of desire that they may have a candid perusal, a prayer- 
ful attention, and the blessing of God in every house. 

The writer has given no new and novel theory. He sets 
up no rivalry with other writers on this subject. His views, 
as far as he understands the subject, are strictly Wesley an , 
consequently he makes no assault upon the standard Wesleyan 

(3) 



4 PREFACE. 

authorities. Were these generally read, less occasion would 
exist for additional volumes on the same subject. Dr. Jesse 
T. Peck observes, " Will not the truth compel the confession, 
that the majority of the church utterly neglect the great pro- 
ductions of our master minds upon this subject ? The pure 
and excellent books which pour a flood of light upon this sub- 
ject are not read." 

No opinion has been adduced that does in the slightest de- 
gree militate against the grand fundamental doctrines of our 
holy religion. I am not conscious of having endeavored to 
support any practice, principle, doctrine, or faith, but which I 
wish to live in, and die possessed of. While I submit the 
same to my Christian reader, I do not expect to escape the 
censure of the enemies of truth. Let them quake that fear ; 
by the grace of God, I love every man, but fear no man, 
and will proclaim humbly and fearlessly what I understand to 
be " the truth as it is in Jesus." I humbly trust neither men 
nor devils can shake my faith in the blessed verity of perfect 
love. And I can not be silent in recommending with my 
tongue, or humble pen,' all believers to seek it without delay. 
I would like to do, as Dr. Gibson, Bishop of London, advised 
Mr. Wesley to do — " Publish it to all the world." 

Let it be properly understood, and it is found to possess 
none of those forbidding features which are so often attributed 
to it by its mistaken opponents. That I may harm no one, 
and that what I have written, or collected from the writings 
of others, may do the reader good, is my sincere prayer. 
What is wrong may the Lord pardon ! 

Every man has a given circle of friends to whom he has 
access, and over whom he has an influence. The author 
trusts that some who would not be reached otherwise may 
be reached by this book, become interested in its theme, and 
led to seek that holiness " without which no man shall see 
the Lord." 

The matter of the book is put into catechetical form, in 
order to meet the many interrogations so often made upon 



PREFACE. 6 

this s abject, and also to help the memory of the reader. This 
form allows the author to present a general, though brief, 
view of the whole subject. 

I do not presume to set myself up as umpire on this sub- 
ject, nor to pronounce by authority upon it ; nor do I suppose 
that I have given answers to all the interrogations to the 
entire satisfaction of even all good men, nor that I havo 
replied to them as well as a wiser and more pious man would 
have done. I have answered them, I humbly trust, with a 
single eye to the glory of God according to the light I have. 
He that has more light, and can do it better, has the liberty 
of doing so. 

Should any object to the amount of compilation in this 
book from the writings of others, my answer is, — 

1. Mr. Wesley himself often did this. 

2. My object has been to clearly present, and strongly en- 
force gospel truth, and when I have believed I could do this 
more efficiently in using the language of others, and by quota- 
tions from others, I have freely availed myself of their help. 
I have (with the exception of those cases where I have 
changed the words or phrases) given credit for what I have 
selected, and trust I have in no case misquoted or perverted 
the meaning of any. The Italics in many of the quotations 
are my own. 

3. What I have brought together in this book is, in its 
original form, dispersed through many volumes, which thou- 
sands in the church have neither money to purchase nor time 
to read. 

Should any object to a repetition, or redundancy of testi- 
mony, on certain points, my answer is, — 

1. I have written mainly for those who need " line upon 
line, and precept upon precept." Some persons are very dull 
of apprehension on this subject, and I had rather repeat an 
important truth many times, than be misunderstood and mis 
represented. 

2. It may serve to prevent the idea that I teach strange 

- 1* 



6 PREFACE. 

doctrines, or a faith or practice contrary to the standards o* 
Methodism. 

In regard to style, I have endeavored in writing, as I en- 
deavor in preaching, to use plainness 'of speech. 
' The terms " perfect love," " perfection," " sanctification," and 
" holiness," I understand to have substantially the same sig- 
nification ; and I have entitled this volume " Perfect Love " 
(notwithstanding some of the other terms are used in it more 
frequently) in view of the fact, that this sweet name has been 
neglected and passed by, while the other terms have been em- 
ployed for titles to works on this subject. 

And now, my friendly reader, with the testimony -of my 
conscience, " that in simplicity and godly sincerity " I have 
done the best I could to present God's truth, I submit to you 
this my humble effort to do good, trusting it will be helpful 
towards elucidating the principles, experience, and practice of 
holiness. I entreat you to read so slowly, studiously, and 
candidly, that you may gather up all the good things, new and 
old, that are contained in this little legacy of a dying man to 
dying men. If its perusal shall afford you a tithe of the 
profit which tie author has derived from its preparation, you 
will indef d bf richly repaid for the time thus spent. 



CONTENTS. 



SECTION I. 

TERMS SIGNIFYING A COMPLETE GOSPEL SALVATION. 

* Perfect Love." — " Perfection." — " Sanctification. ' — " Holiness." — 
These Terms synonymous. — All scriptural. — Should not be ignored.— 
Other Terms used. — The Saviour's Declaration , . . . . 23 

SECTION II. 

REGENERATION AND ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION NOT IDENTIC A L. 

Scriptures teach a Distinction. — They assume a Distinction. — Methodist 
Discipline recognizes it. — The Hymn Book teaches a Distinction. — The 
leading Writers in the Church teach it. — The Views of Wesley. — Wat- 
son. — Fletcher. — Clarke. — Bishop Hedding. — Bishop Hamline. — Dr. 
George Peck. — Dr. R. H. Foster. — Dr. Upham. — This Distinction har- 
monizes with Christian Experience. — Mr. Wesley and Dr. Adam Clarke 
never knew a Case of Entire Sanctification at Conversion. — Mr. Wesley's 
Views of the Idea that we are entirely sanctified when justified. — 
William Bram well's Views. — Dr. George Peck's Views • . . . 15 

SECTION III. 

THE NATURE OF REGENERATION. 

What is the Work of Regeneration ? — Its Nature and Extent. — The Views 
of Dr. Dempster. — Luther Lee. — Dr. Foster. — The Work of Regenera- 
tion perfect. — Justification not retained while Sin is committed. — Views 
of Wesley.— Luther Lee.— Timothy Merritt.— Dr. J. T. Peck.— The 
Conditions of receiving Justification are the Conditions of retaining it. — 
The Standard of Justification too low among Professors of Religion. • . 21 

SECTION IY. 
THE NATURE OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

What is Christian Perfection ? — The Views of Mr. Wesley. — Mr. Fletcher. 

— Bishop Hedding. — Dr. G. Peck. — Luther Lee. — The Difference be- 
tween Regeneration and Entire Sanctification. — Mr. Wesley's View. — 
Bishop Hedding's. — Dr. Dempster's. — Richard Watson's. — Luther 
Lee's. — Rev. W. McDonald's. — Difference between Sin and Depravity. 

— Wesley and Foster. — The Graces of the Spirit without Alloy in the 
sanctified Soul. — Dr. Foster's View. — Sanctification adds no new Vir- 
tues to the Soul. — The Regenerate often think all Sin gone. — The Cause 
of Prejudice and Opposition to Holiness. — A Negative Aspect of the 
Subject. — No absolute Perfection but in God. — Christian Perfection not 
Angelic Perfection. — It does not dispense with the Atonement. — It does 
not exclude Growth in Grace. — The Perfect in Love grow faster than 
others. — The great Hinderance to Growth in Grace. — Christian Perfec- 
tion does not exclude a Liability to fall away. — It does not exclude a 
Liability to Temptation. — The Temptations of the Sanctified. — Where 
Temptation ends and Sin begins. — Dr. Foster's and Mr. Wesley's Views. 

— Sanctification makes no one perfect in Knowledge. — It does net exclude 
the Infirmities of Human Nature. — Holiness may be perfect, and yet 
progressive, . 36 

(7) 



b t CONTENTS. 

SECTION Y. 

HOLINESS ATTAINABLE. 

Argued from the Commands of the Bible. — The Exhortations. —The 
Promises. — The Commands and Promises stand correlated to each other. 
~- The Declarations of Scripture. — Christ and the Apostles prayed for it. 

— Taught as having been experienced. — Provisions are made for it. — It is 
the declared Object for which the Holy Ghost dwells in the Heart of the 
Christian. — The Word is given as the Instrumental Means. — It is the 
Object of an established Ministry. — Its Attainableness lays the only 
adequate Foundation for Efforts to be holy 13 

SECTION VI. 

THE TIME BETWEEN REGENERATION AND ENTIRE SANCT1- 

FICATION. 

No Period stated in the Scriptures. — The only Prerequisite is the Regen- 
erate State. — The Commands, Promises, and Invitations of the Bible all 
in the Present Tense. — IsraeL — Wilderness. — Canaan. — When first 
converted we should seek Holiness. — Six Hundred Thousand in the 
Church now who ought to enter the Spiritual Canaan at once.*— Mr. Wes- 
ley's Views. — The Work in Macclesfield. — Mr. Wesley's Letter to 
Freeborn Garrettson. — Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers. — The Views of Rev. Asa 
Kent. —Benjamin Abbott. — Luther Lee. — Dr. Jesse T. Peck. — President 
Mahan. — Rev. James Caughey. — The Scripture Imagery employed to 
illustrate the Work of entire Sanctification. — Mortification. — Oucifixion. 
-Refining Metals. — Leaven. — Cleansing the Leper it 

SECTION YII. 
HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED BY GROWTH IN GRACE. 

All Sin must be renounced. — He who does not seek Holiness tolerates 
some Sin. — Dr. F. G. Hibbard's View. — Seeking a gradual Purity ren- 
ders the Attainment of Holiness impossible. — This a mooted Question 

— A serious Mistake. — Sin after Regeneration. — A justified Soul does? 
not commit Sin. — The Question. — Growth in Grace involves just what 
its Terms indicate. — What Growth in Grace will do. — The View ol 
Rev. William Reddy. — The Difficulty which Growth in Grace does not 
reach. — The Expulsion of inbred Sin instantaneous.— Rev. Timothy 
Merritt's Views. — Quotation from Wesley. — Sin suspended, not de- 
stroyed. — Growing in Grace not the Process of separating Sin from the 
Soul. — Dr. Hibbard's Opinion. — Mr. Wesley on simple Faith for Sanc- 
tification. — Inbred Sin a Unit. — The "Works of the Flesh" and the 
" Fruit of the Spirit." — Grace implanted in the Soul instantaneously.-- Dr. 
Clarke's Opinion of a gradual Purification. — Mr. Wesley's View. — James 
Caughey's View. — Mr. Wesley on the Manner of obtaining Perfection — 
The Idea of Holiness is that of Purity, and not of Maturity. — Dr. George 
Peck on the Destruction of Sin. — Growth in Grace before and after Sanc- 
tification. — The Commands and Promises of God. — Dr. Adam Clarke on 
a present Salvation. — Fletcher's Opinion. — Purity not a Question of 
Time. — The Work of God at Macclesfield. — Maturity a Question of 
Time. — Dr. Hibbard on Obstructions to Growth in Grace. — Holiness 
secured by creating cleansing Power.— Dr. Bangs on gradual Sanctifica- 
tion.- The Views of Hester Ann Rogers. — Rev. Daniel Wise on why 
Believers are not holy. — Dr. Foster's Views. — Mr. Fletcher on the 
gradual Process. — The uniform Experience of the Sanctified. — Wit- 
nesses of Perfect Love in London. — The Change wrought in a Moment 

— Some may not know the Time when iustified or sanctified. — Question. 

— Approach to Death sometimes gradual. — A gradual Process befo re- 
conversion or Sanctification. — The Scripture Figures. — Two Classes: 
Purity and Maturity 5* 



CONTENTS. V 

SECTION#VIII. 

DIRECTIONS FOR THE ATTAINMENT OF HOLINESS 

First Direction. — Second. — Third. — Fourth. — The proximate Condition 
of Sanctification. — Ten Interrogations. — Mr. Wesley's Views of the 
Faith that sanctifies. — A distinct and naked Faith. — The Foundation" 
for Faith. — Christ will save just now. — The Distinction between Conse- 
cration and Sanctification. — Consecration previous to Justification, and . 
to entire Sanctilication. — Conviction preceding the Seeking- of Holiness. 

— The Light of Justification sometimes obscured while seeking Holiness. 

— Convictions of a Sinner seeking Pardon and those of a Believer seeking 
Holiness. — Exercises of Mind while seeking Holiness. — Prayer should 
be definite and discriminating. — Evidence of Justification should precede 
the Seeking of Sanctification ?fc 

t 

SECTION IX. 

THE EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOYE. 

The same as those of Justification. — Mr. Wesley. — Witness of Regenera- 
tion and of Sanctification. — In what Respect they differ. — What is the 
Witness of the Spirit ? — Not always clear at first. — Sometimes possessed 
without Intermission. — Faith accompanied with the Witness of the Spirit. 

— Not retained while any Sin is allowed.- — A pure Heart has its Fruits. — 
The Fruit of Holiness. — The Fruit of inbred Sin. — The emotional Ex- 
perience of the Sanctified. — Naming the Blessing. — Does not make all 
Persons act alike. — Evidences itself in the Absence of Sin. — Will com- 
fort in Affliction. — Deep Grief not incompatible with it. — Some give up in 
Affliction. — The Character of the Evidence '. . 89 

SECTION X. 

THE PROFESSION OF PERFECT LOYE. 

The Scriptures authorize a Profession. — The Church generally recognizes 
the Duty of a Profession of Religion. — Holiness deserves a grateful 
Acknowledgment. — Christians are God's Witnesses. — Pastoral Address 
of the General Conference. — Not retained without Profession. — The 
Views of William Bram well. — Mrs. Phoebe Palmer. — Rev. Asa Kent. — Mr. 
Fletcher. — He lost it four Times. — Lady Maxwell. — The Good secured 
by Profession. — Spirit, Conversation, and Example not enough. — Pro- 
miscuous Audience. — The best Terms to be used. — A definite Profession. 

— Objectionable Terms and Manner of Profession. — The Spirit in pro- 
fessing. — Assumed by some as Evidence of Pride. — Did Mr. AVesiey 
profess the Blessing? — Did Mr. Wesley encourage a Profession? — He 
saw there would be Opposition to it. — Mr. Bram well on Opposition to a 
Profession. — The Experience and Profession a common Thing in Mr. 
Wesley's Day. — Records of Professions. — Pastoral Address. — Bram- 
well. — Carvosso. — Benjamin Abbott. — Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers. — Mr. 
Wesley in London. — Bishop Asbury. — Caution to be used. — Points of 
Danger 10$ 

SECTION XI. 
WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOYE. 

4"he Apostle Paul. — John Fletcher. — William Bramwell. — James Brainard 
Taylor. — William Carvosso. — Dr. Adam Clarke. — Benjamin Abbott. — 
Bishop Hamline. — Father Reeves. — Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers. — Dr. 
IJpham. — Mrs. Upham. — Dr. Olin. — Mrs. Phoebe Palmer. — Rev. Henry 
Smith. — Rev. Joseph Benson. — Rev. Asa Kent. — Rev. David Stoner. — 
Dr. Fisk. — Mrs. President Edwards. — Dr. Payson. — Rev. Epenetus 
Ow^u. — Rev. B. W. Gorham. — Lady Maxwell. — Bisliop Whatcoat. — 
Rev. William Hunter. — The Psalmist David 124 



10 CONTENTS. 



(SECTION XII. 

REASONS WHY EV KY CHRISTIAN SHOULD BE ENTIRELY 
SANCTIFIED. 

ft is their Duty. — It is the most useful Life.— It is the happiest Life. — 
It is the safest Life. — It avoids much of the Danger of Backsliding". — 
God desires it. — Holiness is intrinsically excellent^ — Gratitude to God 
demands it. — The Interests of Christ's Kingdom demand it. — Future 
Rewards are graduated by it. --Dr. Foster I3f 

SECTION XIII. 

MINISTERS SHOULD BE ENTIRELY SANCTIFIED. 

It is an Element of Efficiency. — Pentecost. — Views of Dr. Jesse T. Peck. — 
President Mahan. — President Finney. — Dr. George Peck. — «Rev. Henry 
Smith. — Letter to Bishop Asbury. — The Want of it the Cause of so little 
Preaching on the Subject. — Dr. Jesse T. Peck. — The Want of Harmony 
in Mr. Wesley's Views at Successive Periods of his Life 145 

SECTION XIY. 

HOLINESS MUST BE PREACHED. 

[t should have a prominent Place in the Pulpit. — The same as it has in the 
Bible. — Dr. Foster's Views of its Prominence in the Bible. — Mr. Wesley's 
Views. — Dr. Adam Clarke's Views. — The Views of Jesse T. Peck. — r Dr. 
Stephen Olin. — Bishop Asbury's Letter to Rev. Henry Smith. — Bishop 
Whatcoat. — Dr. Foster's Opinion. — Bishop McKendree's Letter to Sura- 
merfield. — George Pickering and the Preachers of Boston. — The venerable 
Henry Smith. — Bramwell's Letter to a Young Minister. — A serious Lack 
of Preaching on the Subject. — The Doctrine a Peculiarity of Methodism. 

— To disseminate it her special Mission. — The Design of the Methodist 
Ministry. — The lamented J. V. Watson. — Dr. G. Peck's View. — Adam 
Clarke's Opinion. — Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers's Account of one of Mr. Wes- 
ley's Sermons. — Carvosso and "old and proved Methodism." 154 

SECTION XV. 
HOLINESS PREACHED IN EARLY METHODISM. 

!The Testimony of Mr. Wesley. — Of Mr. Bramwell. — Of Rev. Wm. Hunter. 

— Mr. Bramwell's Biographer's Account of Mr. Bramwell's Preaching. — 
The Opposition of Mr. Bramwell. — Holiness preached during early 
Methodism in America. Father Kent. — Dr. Olin. — Bishop George. — 
Benjamin Abbott. — Dr. Bangs's History of the M. E. Church 162 

SECTION XVI. 

HOLINESS IDENTIFIED WITH THE PROMOTION OF THE GEN- 
ERAL WORK OF GOD. 

Mr. Wesley's Testimony. — Wesley's Letter to Freeborn Garrettson. — Dr. 
Olin's Views. — Rev. J. V. Watson's Views. — Bishop McKendree's 
Views. — William Bramwell's Opinion. — Lady Maxwell's Journal. — Dr. 
Stevens's Opinion given in his " History of Methodism." — A Modern 
Writer. — The Pastoral Address of the General Conference of 1840 ... 166 

SECTION XYII. 

RESULTS OF NOT SEEKING HOLINESS. 

Affords an Advantage to the Devil. — Lavs the Foundation for Defeat in 
spiritual Conflict. — Dr. J. T. Peck's Opinion. — The Occasion of Apos- 
tasy.— The Views of Drs. George and J. T. Peck. — Rev. Timothy Mer- 
ritt. — Prof. Finney.— Mr. Wesley. — President Malum. — It tills the 
Church with Backsliders. — Dr. Foster. — Dr. Doddridge. — A fruitful 
Source of Opposition to Holiness . 172 



CONTENTS. 11 



SECTION XVTTT. 

TRIALS OF THE SANCTIFIED. 

Profession tried. — Faith tried. — Charity tried.— Patience tried. — Firmness 
tried. — Fidelity to God and Man tried'.— Trials the best Helps to Growth 
in Grace. — "Eternal Weight of Glory." o . . 173 

SECTION XIX. 
HOW A STATE OF ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION MAY BE RETAINED. 

It must be confessed. — A continued Consecration. — A continuous Faitli. 

— A Life of Self-Denial. — Continued Watchfulness. — Obey the Teachings 
of the Spirit. — Studying the Scriptures. — Constant Advancement. — 
Living as under the Eye of God. — A Life of Prayer. — Labor for the Sal- 
tation of Sinners. — Opposition to Sin of every Name and Kind 183 

SECTION XX. 
OBJECTIONS TO SEEKING PERFECT LOYE. 

The Course Multitudes pursue. — Fourteen Excuses stated and answered. 

— The Sinner's Excuses for not seeking Justification are just as reason- 
able and plausible as those presented by Believers for not seeking 
Holiness 188 

SECTION XXI. 

ADYICE TO THOSE PROFESSING PERFECT LOYE. 

Consecration. — Faith. — Live by the Moment. — L T se the Means of Grace. — 
Do all to the Glory of God. — Lightness, Levity, Moroseness. — Rever- 
ence. — Study the Bible. — Redeem the Time. — Watch against Sin. — 
Resist Temptation. — Profession and Practice. — Profession vindicated. 

— Impulses, Impressions. — Writers on San ctifi cation. — Extremes. — 
Ostentation and Display. — "Stand up for Jesus." — Evil Speaking. — 
Opposition. — Fault-finding. — Unkindness. — Charity. — Excommunica- 
tion. — Controversy l&l 

SECTION XXII. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Wesleyan Reformation. — Want of the Church. — Church subject to Dan- 
gers, — Why so few enjoy Perfect Love. — " Perfect Love casts out Fear." 

— Justification disparaged. — Holiness a Narrow Way. — Filled with the 
Holy Ghost. — Salvation from Sin. — Sanctified Souis distinguished from 
others. — The Foes of the entirely sanctified. — Discord among Brethren. 

— Professors of Holiness censorious. — Two Kinds of Holiness. — Best 
Friends of the Church. — Need of the Atonement. — Sin and Humility. — 
Standard of Holiness. — The Limits of Christian Perfection. — Inbred Sin 
and Infirmities. — Holiness not a high State of Grace. — Mr. Wesley and 
the People called Methodists. — Sanctifi cation lost and Justification re- 
tained. — Mark xi. 24. — The Rest of Perfect Love. — Fruits of a pare 
Heart. — The Exercise of Faith. — Faith the Gift of God. — Faith volun- 
tary. — Hinderances to Holiness. — The Hinderances to Faith. — Holiness 
and Growth in Grace. — Partakers of the divine Nature. — Progress from 
Grace to Sin. — Affliction. — Indifference and Apathy. — Why not sancti- 
fied when pardoned? — Results of staying- on the 'Wilderness Side of 
Jordan. — How can the Sanctified be. tempted? —Love is the highest 
Gift of God. — The Work of Justification and Sanctifi cation to be pro- 
moted simultaneously. — Baptism of the Holy Ghost. — Sanctification and 
Camp Meetings. — The Work of Holiness progressing. — Mr. Wesley's 
preaching Holiness. — Opposition in the Church. — The most virulent 
Opposers. — The Spirit of Holiness and the Spirit of the World antago- 
nistic. — Compromising Spirit. — The Apostle Paul's Labors and Sacri- 
fices. — Losing Perfect Love. — Difficulties of a certain Heresy. — The 
Secret of Holy Living. — Questions for Self-Examination '404 



12 CONTENTS. 

SECTION XXIII 

MAKING A HOBBY OF HOLINESS. 

How Opposition to Holiness manifests itself. — Accusation. — Some may 
go to an Extreme. — Objections to the Accusation, " He maizes a Hobby of 
Holiness." — 1. To make a Hobby of Holiness, according to Webster, is 
right. — 2. It indicates a Spirit of Opposition to Holiness. — 3. It is in 
Opposition to the Declaration of the Bishops of the M. E. Church. — . 
4. It is usually made by those whose Experience in regard to the Blessing 
is indefinite and uncertain. — 5. It serves to quiet the Convictions of some 
who feel the Need of Holiness. — 6. The Point of Danger is not that men 
will go too far .264 

SECTION XXIY. 

WEARING JEWELR* AND COSTLY ARRAY. 

Forbidden by the Scriptures. — Cannot be done in the Name of the Lord. 
— A Violation of the Discipline. — A Violation of Baptismal Vows. — It 
falsities a Profession of Religion. — It is a Sign and Fruit of Pride. — A 
Violation of Christian Propriety. — It squanders Money. — It engenders 
unhallowed Passions. — It tends to establish a pernicious Standard of 
Taste. — It misspends Time. — It furnishes the World with Arguments- 
against Christianity. — It is in Opposition to the matured Advice and 
Remonstrances of Mr. Wesley 271 

SECTION XXV. 

THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

It is opposed to some plain Christian Duties. — It is an unseemly and un- 
cleanly Habit. — Its Accompaniments are bad. — The Voice of the deeply 
Pious is against it. — Resolutions of the Ohio Conference. — Wisconsin 
Conference. — It is attended with much and needless Expense. — General 
Conference of the Wesleyan Church. — Dr. Adam Clarke's Views 277 

SECTION XXVI. 

ENTHUSIASM — CONFUSION — SHOUTING — FALLING, &c. 

The Bible Standard of Religion has always been regarded as Fanaticism. — 
The Views of William Burkitt. — The Fate of the Apostles. — What Fa- 
naticism is. — The Bible countenances Shouting. — It countenances Re- 
sponses. — It countenances physical Prostrations. — No Religion in Bodily 
Prostration. — Views of President Finney. — The Views of President 
Edwards. — Wrong to pray for bodily Exercises. — The Bible the* grand 
Safeguard against all Delusions. — The Extravagances which Mr. Wesley 
condemned. . . * 283 

SECTION XXVII. 
THE AUTHOR'S EXPERIENCE. 

When converted. — Distressed with Doubts. — How removed. — Convicted 
of his Need of Holiness. — Results of not seeking it. — Prejudice against 
the Profession of Holiness. — How removed. — Binghamton Camp Meet- 
ing. — Sought and obtained Perfect Love. — The turning Point. — The 
Baptism of the Holy Spirit. — A Night of refining Power. — Results of 
entire Sanctiiication in the Author's Experience. - Conclusion 295 



PERFECT LOVE 



SECTION FIRST. 

TERMS SIGNIFYING A COMPLETE GOSPEL SALVATION. 

1. What terms are commonly used to express full 
salvation ? 

They are "perfect love" " perfection" " sanciifica- 
tion" and " holiness." These terms, properly speak- 
ing, are synonymous — all pointing to the same ex- 
alted state of grace. But while they all denote the 
same religious state, each one of them indicates some 
of its essential characteristics and peculiar phases. 
These terms are significantly expressive of the state. 

The word " sanctification " has regard especially to 
the work in its connection with the entire consecration, 
of the soul to God. To " sanctify" means, to set 
apart ; to devote to holy uses. " Sanctify yourselves 
therefore, and be ye holy." 

The term " perfection" refers especially to the com- 
pleteness of the Christian character ; its freedom from 
all sin, and its possession of all the graces of the Spirit ; 
complete in kind. " Let us go on. unto perfection." 

2 (13) 



14 GOSPEL TERMS. 

The phrase "perfect love" points more directly to 
the spirit, temper, and element in which the wholly 
sanctified and perfect Christian lives. " He that dwell- 
eth in love dwelleth in God." 

The term " holiness" is somewhat more general and 
comprehensive than the others, and includes all things 
involved in complete salvation from sin, and the pos- 
session of the image and Spirit of God. " Follow 
peace with all men, and holiness, without which na 
man shall see the Lord." These terms are used synon- 
ymously, and indiscriminately, in this book. 

They are all scriptural, all significant, and all good ; 
and they never should be ignored by the church of 
God. No one of them should be employed to the ex- 
clusion of the others ; nor should other terms be chosen 
to their exclusion. The common use of other terms, 
such as " the life of faith," " rest in God," " full assur- 
ance," "the fullness of God," etc., in the place of the 
highly significant Bible terms, is at least of doubtful 
propriety. They are names given by inspiration to the 
work of God in the fully saved, and we do well to 
remember that our Saviour said, " Whosoever shall be 
ashamed of me, and of my words, of him shall the 
Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own 
glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels." 



REGENERATION AND SANCTIFICATION. 15 

SECTION SECOND. 

REGENERATION AND ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION NOT 
IDENTICAL. 

2. Do the Scriptures teach a distinction between re- 
generation and entire sanctification ? 

They do. " And I, brethren, could not speak unto 
you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto 
babes in Christ. For ye are yet carnal ; for whereas 
there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, 
are ye not carnal, and walk as men ? " " Having,, 
therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse 
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, per- 
fecting holiness in the fear of God." " For the flesh 
lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the 
flesh ; and these are contrary the one to the other : so 
that ye can not do the things that ye would." " And 
the very God of peace sanctify you wholly." " Sanc- 
tify them through thy truth ; thy word is truth." All 
these passages have reference to Christians, who are 
in a regenerated state, but not entirely sanctified ; and 
these scriptures imply or teach that their entire sanc- 
tification had not yet been wrought. 

3. Do the Scriptures assume a distinction betiveen 
regeneration and entire sanctification ? 

They do. To sinners God says, " Ye must be born 
again." To the regenerate he says, " Be ye holy, for 
1 am holy." These two classes of commands, in their 



16 REGENERATION AND SANCTIFICATION 

various forms, are prominent through all the Gospels 
and Epistles. 

4. Does the Methodist Discipline recognize a dis- 
tinction ? 

It does. Every minister of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church has set his seal, in his induction into the min- 
istry, to the doctrine that entire sanctification is a 
distinct work, subsequent to justification. In the Dis- 
cipline, Part II. Sec. 10, are the following questions : 
" Have you faith in Christ ? Are you going on unto 
perfection ? Do you expect to be made perfect in love 
in this life ? Are you groaning after it ? " These ques 
tions suppose that " perfection," or " perfect love," is 
distinct from and subsequent to justification. Every 
Methodist minister has answered these questions in the 
affirmative. 

5. Does the Methodist Hymn Book teach a distinc 
tion ? 

It does very clearly. It contains a class of hymns 
on nearly all the leading doctrines of Christianity, 
among which is a class on Justification, Adoption and 
Assurance, and a large class on Sanctification. These 
hymns (more numerous than any other class in the 
Hymn Book) were written principally by the Wesleys, 
to define , defend, and promote the doctrine of sanctifi- 
cation, during early Methodism, when it was greatly 
controverted. Take the following as a specimen of the 
teachings of our excellent hymns on this subject : — - 



NOT IDENTICAL. 17 

*« I wait till he shall touch me clean. 
Shall life and power impart, 
Give me the faith that casts out sin, 
And purifies the heart.' * 

•' O that I now, from sin released. 

Thy word may to the utmost prove, 
Enter into the promised rest, 

The Canaan of thy perfect love ! " 

" T^ow let thy Spirit bring me in, 
And give thy servant to possess 
The land of rest from inbred sin, 
The land of perfect holiness." 

u Break off the yoke of inbred sin., 
And fully set my spirit free; 
I can not rest till pure within, 
Till I am wholly lost in thee." 

" Refining fire, go through my heart ; 
Illuminate my soul ; 
Scatter thy life through every part, 
And sanctify the whole** 

" 'Tis done ; thou dost this moment save — 
AVith full salvation bless ; 
Redemption through thy blood I have, 
And spotless love, and peace." 

6. Do the leading writers in the Methodist church 
teach this distinction ? 

They do ; and, as the old Moravian doctrine is 
springing up among us, and is being preached even by 
some Methodist ministers, you will allow me to give 
you a number of authorities on this question. 

1. Mr. Wesley says, " Sanctification begins in the 
moment a man is justified. Yet sin remains in him, 
yea, the seed of all sin, till he is sanctified throughout. 

2* 



18 REGENERATION AND SANCTIFICATION 

. . . There does still remain, even in them that are jus- 
tified, a mind which is in some measure carnal."* " At 
the very moment of justification we are born again; 
in that instant we experience that inward change from 
darkness into marvelous light. But are we then en- 
tirely changed ? Are we wholly transformed into the 
image of Him that created us ? Far from it ; we still 
retain a depth of sin, and it is the consciousness of 
this which constrains us to groan for a full deliverance 
to Him that is mighty to save." "The new birth is 
not the same with sanctification. I believe justification 
to be wholly distinct from sanctification, and necessarily 
antecedent to it." 

2. Richard Watson says, " That a distinction exists 
between a regenerate state and a state of entire and 
perfect holiness, will be generally allowed. Regenera- 
tion, we have seen, is concomitant with justification ; 
but the apostles, in addressing the body of believers in 
the churches to whom they wrote their Epistles, set 
before them, both in the prayers they offer in their 
behalf and in the exhortations they administer, a still 
higher degree of deliverance from sin, as well as a 
higher growth in Christian virtues." 

3. John Fletcher says, " We do not deny that the 
remains of the carnal mind still cleave to imperfect 
Christians." " The same spirit of faith which initially 
purifies our hearts when we cordially believe the par- 
doning love of God, completely cleanses them when we 
fully believe his sanctifying love." 

4. Dr. Adam Clarke says to a friend who had been 



NOT IDENTICAL. 19 

misinformed in regard to his views of entire sanclifr 
cation, " As to the words which you quote as mine, 1 
totally disclaim them. I never said, I never intended 
to say, them. / believe justification and sanctification 
to be ividely .distinct works" He used the term justifi- 
cation as including regeneration. 

5. Bishop Hedding says, " Regeneration also, being 
the same as the new birth, is the beginning of sanctifi- 
cation, though not the completion of it, or not entire 
sanctification. Regeneration is the beginning of purifi- 
cation ; entire sanctification is the finishing of that 
work." 

6. Bishop Hamline says, " That this perfect love, 
or entire sanctification, is specifically a new state, and 
not the mere improvement of a former state, or of re 
generation, is plainly inferred from the Bible." 

7. Dr. R. S. Poster says, " Regeneration is not 
entire sanctification ; the merely regenerate are not 
sanctified ; they are not entirely free from sin ; they 
are not perfect in love." 

8. Dr. George Peck says, " The doctrine of entire 
sanctification, as a distinct work wrought in the soul 
by the Holy Ghost* is the great distinguishing doc- 
trine of Methodism. This given up, and we have 
little left which we do not hold in common with other 
evangelical denominations." " The position that jus- 
tification and entire sanctification take place at one 
and the same time, and that regeneration and entire 
sanctification are identical, is clearly contrary to the 
position taken by our standard theologians." 



20 REGENERATION AND SANCTIFICATION 

9. Dr. Upham says, " The distinction which is made 
in the Scriptures between the two is regarded so obvi- 
ous and incontrovertible by most writers that it has 
naturally passed as an established truth into treatises 
on theology." 

These quotations might be multiplied to almost any 
extent. Those we have given are sufficient to satisfy 
any candid mind concerning the voice of the church 
on this question. 

7. Does this distinction harmonize with Christian 
experience ? 

It does. All Christians profess to be and really are 
regenerated ; while but few profess to be sanctified 
wholly. Sinners and unconverted men are not con- 
cerned for the blessing of perfect love, or entire sane-, 
tification. Sinners seek for pardon and acceptance, 
and not for entire sanctification. The more clearly the 
light of regeneration and justification shines, the more 
the converted soul will see and feel the necessity of 
entire sanctification. Messrs. Fletcher, Bramwell, Car- 
vosso, Nelson, Stoner, Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers, Mrs 
Fletcher, Lady Maxwell, and a host of others, have 
explicitly declared that they received a distinct witness 

Of this " SECOND BLESSING." 

Thousands of intelligent Christians, whose experi- 
ence in regard to regeneration and sanctification has 
been clear, can testify to the following : — 

1. They have had a clear evidence of justification. 



NOT IDENTICAL. 21 

2. While ill possession of this evidence, they have 
been convinced of inbred sin, or corruption. 

3. They have sought and obtained a sensible purifi- 
cation of heart, in which all sin was taken away, and 
they were enabled to love God with all the heart. 

4. They have had as clear and distinct witness of the 
spirit of this " second blessing " as they ever had of 
justification and regeneration. 

8. Did Mr. Wesley or Dr. Adam Clarke ever know 
of a case of conversion and entire sanctif cation as 
taking place at the same time? 

Mr. Wesley says, " But we do not know a single 
instance, in any place, of a person's receiving in one 
and the same moment remission of sins, the abiding 
witness of the Spirit, and a new and a clean heart." 

Dr. Clarke says, " I have been twenty-three years a 
traveling preacher, and have been acquainted with 
some thousands of Christians during that time, who 
were in different states of grace ; and I never, to my 
knowledge, met with a single instance where God both 
justified and sanctified at the same time." 

9. Did Mr. Wesley regard the doctrine that wt arc 
viholly sanctified when we are justified a great evil ? 

He did. It was on account of this heresy among 
the Moravians that Mr. Wesley, after several long inter- 
views with Count Zinzendorf, one of their leaders, was 
led to separate himself from them, so that neither he 
nor his societies had any further communion with 
them. 



22 THE NATURE 

10. How did William Br am well regard the idea 
(Jiat we are entirely sanctified when vie are justified ? 

He writes to a friend, " An idea is going forth ihai 
1 when we are justified we are entirely sanctified] and 
* to feel evil nature after justification is to lose pardon,' 
&c. You may depend upon it, this is the devil's great 
gun. We shall have much trouble with this, and I am 
afraid we can not suppress it." 

Dr. George Peck says, " Would it not be a sad indi- 
cation of the degeneracy of Methodism in this country, 
if what Mr. Wesley, under God our great founder, 
considered heresy, and opposed with all his might, 
should be cherished as the very marrow of the gospel 
by the ministers and people of the Methodist Episcopal 
church ? " 



SECTION THIRD. 

THE NATURE OP REGENERATION. 

11. Wliat is the work of regeneration — its nature 
and its extent ? 

Regeneration is the impartation of spiritual life to 
the soul of man. It restores to the soul a new spiritual 
life, which was lost by the fall, and it always accom- 
panies justification. Allow me to give you some, learned 
authorities on this question. Will you thoroughly 
study them ? 

1. Dr. J. Dempster says, "You ask, In what, then, 
does regeneration consist? Simply in this thieefold 



OF REGENERATION. 23 

change — namely, justification, partial renovation, and 
divine adoption. The first changes the believer's rela- 
tions to the infinite government, but effects no renova- 
tion of his heart. The second changes his affection 
sufficient for him to achieve the control of downward 
tendencies. The third introduces him into the divine 
family, of which he is made aware by the witnessing 
spirit of adoption." 

2. Luther Lee says, " Regeneration reverses the cur- 
rent of the affections, and so renews the whole soul 
that all the Christian graces exist. . . . Regeneration is 
a renewal of our fallen nature by the power of the 
Holy Spirit, whereby the regenerate are delivered from 
the power of sin which reigns over all the unregen- 
erate. . . . The power of sin is broken; the principle 
of obedience is planted in the heart." 

i. " Justification is a work done for us, but regener- 
ation is a work done in us. 

2. u Justification changes our relation to God, and 
restores us to his favor by a pardon, while regeneration 
changes our state — our real character. 

3. " Justification removes the guilt of the sin which 
we have committed, while regeneration removes the 
love of sin. 

4. " Justification removes the punishment we deserve, 
remits the penalty of the law ; but regeneration plants 
the principle of obedience in the heart. 

5. " Justification brings the favor of God, while 
regeneration brings back the image of God, and agrpn 
impresses it upon the soul." - 



34 THE NATURE 

3. Dr. It. H. Foster says, " With respect to regener- 
ation, that is a work done in us, in the way of changing 
our inward nature ; a work by which a spiritual life is 
infused into the soul, whereby he (the regenerate) 
brings forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness, has 
victory over sin, is enabled to resist corrupt tendencies^ 
and has peace and joy in the Holy Ghost ; a radical 
change by which the preponderating tendencies of the 
soul are turned toward God, whereas they were previ- 
ously from him — by which the love of sin is destroyed, 
its dominion broken, and a desire and relish for and 
longing after holiness implanted" 

12. Is not the work of God perfect in regeneration? 
" We answer, it is a perfect regeneration. But a 

perfect regeneration is not a perfect sanctification, no 
more than a perfect penitence is a perfect regeneration. 
The soul is perfectly born anew, but it is not perfectly 
made holy." — Foster. 

13. Can a state of justification be retained while 
any sin is committed ? 

1, Mr. Wesley says, " But even babes in Christ are 
so far perfect as not to commit sin. . . . We all agree 
and earnestly maintain, c He that committeth sin is of 
the devil? We agree, ' Whosoever is born of God doth 
not commit sin.' " 

2. Rev. Luther Lee says, " No man can believe with 
the heart unto righteousness, or so as to obtain justifi- 
cation, while living in the practice of any known sin, or 
in the neglect of any known duty. . . . The moment 



OF REGENERATION. 25 

he does what lie knows to be a sin, or neglects what he 
knows to be a duty, faith, by which he is justified, lets 
go its hold upon God, and he loses his justification. 
. . . Justification, which is by faith alone, carries with 
it entire submission and obedience to God. . . . The 
will is right at the moment of regeneration, and it 
must remain right, or willful sin will be the result, and 
justification will be lost." 

3. Rev. Timothy Merritt says, " The word of God 
plainly declares that those who are born again, even in 
the lowest sense, do not continue in sin ; that they can 
not live any longer therein." 

4. Dr. J. T. Peck says, " The continuance of the 
justified state implies obedience in intention to all the 
requirements of the gospel, the law of progress ( 6 grow 
in grace ') and the law of purity (' be ye holy ') 
included." 

5. The conditions of receiving justification and re- 
generation are the conditions of retaining them. " As 
ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so 
walk ye in him." Christ is received by complete sub- 
mission, and present, simple, naked faith. Conscious 
confidence and conscious guilt can not exist in the same 
heart at the same time. There is a vital union between 
justifying faith and obedience. By obedience faith is 
made perfect, and by disobedience it is destroyed. 

Justification can iaot be retained an hour with any 
less submission, consecration, and faith than that by 
which it was obtained. We have reason to fear the 
standard of justification is getting too low among pro- 

3 



26 THE NATURE OP 

fessors of religion. The church should ever remembei 
that believers can not commit any sin without forfeiting 
justification, and laying the foundation for repentance 
from dead works. There must be a continued obedi- 
ence to all the known will of God, if we would ietain a 
justified state ; for " He that committeth sin is of the 
devil" and " Wlwsoever is born of God doth not com- 
mit sin." 



SECTION FOURTH. 

THE NATURE OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

14. What constitutes Christian perfection? 

Christian perfection, or holiness, is that state of grace 
which excludes all sin from the heart. " Blessed are 
the pure in heart." " Create in me a clean heart, 
God." "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth 
us from all sin." " Being made free from sin, ye have 
your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." 

Although nearly all our standards define holiness 
and Christian perfection in different phraseology, yet 
they are essentially the same. Take the following : — 

1. Mr. Wesley says, u Pure love reigning alone in 
die heart and life, — this is the whole of Christian per- 
fection. . . . Scripture perfection is pure love filling- the 
heart and governing all the words and actions. . . . In 
one view, it is purity of intention dedicating all the life 
to God." 

2. Rev. John Fletcher says, " It is the depth of evau 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 27 

gelical repentance, the full assurance of faith, and the 
pure love of God and man shed abroad in a faithful 
believer's heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him, to 
cleanse him, and to keep him clean, 'from all the filth- 
iness of the flesh and spirit? and to enable him to 
' fulfill the law of Christ,' according to the talents he is 
intrusted with, and the circumstances in which he is 
placed in this world." 

3. Bishop Hedding says, " Regeneration is the be- 
ginning of purification ; entire sanctification is the 
finishing' of that work" 

4. Dr. George Peck says, " By being saved from all 
sin in the present life, we mean being saved, first from 
all outward sin — all violations of the requirements of 
the law of love which relate to our outward conduct ; 
and, secondly, from all inward sin — - all violations of 
the law of love which relate to the intellect, the sensi- 
bilities, and the will." 

5. Rev. Luther Lee says, " Sanctification is that re- 
newal of our fallen nature by the Holy Ghost, received 
through faith in Jesus Christ, whose blood of atonement 
has power to cleanse from all sin ; whereby we are not 
only delivered from the guilt of sin, which is justifica- 
tion, but are washed entirely from its pollution, freed 
from its power, and are enabled, through grace, to love 
God with all our hearts, and to walk in his holy com- 
mandments blameless." 

Mr. Wesley says, " Both my brother [Charles Wesley] 
and I maintain, that Christian perfection is that love of 
God and our neighbor which implies deliverance from 



28 THE NATURE OF 

15. Wliat constitutes the difference between regener 
ation and sanctification ? 

The man who is merely regenerated is but partially 
saved from sin, while the sanctified is wholly saved. 
The regenerated soul does not commit sin, though he 
is conscious of remaining inbred sin. The sanctified 
soul neither commits sin nor feels any consciousness of 
remaining inbred sin. In the justified soul, the power 
and control of sin is destroyed; in the sanctified, its 
inbeing is destroyed. In justification, the strong man 
armed is bound; in sanctification, he is cast out. 

1. Mr. Wesley says, " That believers are delivered 
from the guilt and power of sin we allow ; that they 
are delivered from the being of it we deny. . . . Christ, 
indeed, can not reign where sin reigns ; neither will he 
dwell where sin is allowed. But he is and dwells in 
the heart of every believer who is fighting against all 
sin, although it be not yet purified. . . . Indeed, this 
grand point, that there are two contrary principles in 
[unsanctified] believers, — nature and grace, the flesh 
and the spirit, — runs through all the Epistles of St. 
Paul, yea, through all the Holy Scriptures ; almost all 
the directions and exhortations therein are founded on 
this supposition, pointing at wrong tempers or practices 
in those who are notwithstanding acknowledged by the 
inspired writers to be believers." 

2. Bishop Hedding says, " The difference between a 
justified soul who is not fully sanctified and one fully 
sanctified I understand to be this : the first (if he does 
not backslide^) is kept from voluntarily committing known 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 29 

sin, which is what is commonly meant in the New 
Testament by committing sin. But he yet finds in 
himself the remains of inbred corruption, or original 
sin, such as pride, anger, envy, a feeling of hatred to 
an enemy, a rejoicing at a calamity which has fallen 
upon an enemy, &c. The second, or the person fully 
sanctified, is cleansed from all these inward involuntary 
sins" 

3. Dr. Dempster says, " Do you, then, demand an 
exact expression of the difference ? It is this : the one 
admits of controlled tendencies to sin, the other extir- 
pates those tendencies. That is, the merely regenerate 
has remaining impurity ; the fully sanctified has none." 

4. Rev. Richard Watson says, " In this regenerate 
state, the former corruptions of the heart may remain 
and strive for the mastery ; but that which characterizes 
and distinguishes it from the state of a penitent before 
justification, before he is in Christ, is, that they are not 
even his inward habit, and that they have no dominion." 

5. Rev. Luther Lee says, " The power of sin is broken, 
the tyrant is dethroned, and his reign ceases in the soul 
at the moment of regeneration ; yet sin is not so de- 
stroyed as not to leave his mark upon the soul, and even 
yet struggle for the mastery." 

" There is still a warfare within ; — there will be 
found an opposing element in the sensibility of the soul, 
which, though it no longer controls the will, often rebels 
against it and refuses to obey it." . . . u The will can 
and does resist them in a regenerate state ; but it can 
not silence them, renew, or change their direction bj 

3* 



30 THE NATURE OF 

an act of volition." . . . " These [propensities, passions, 
appetites] belong to the soul, and must be brought into 
harmony with right and the sanctified will before the 
whole soul can be said to be sanctified or to be entirely 
consecrated to God. When this work is wrought, then 
the war within will cease." 

6. Rev. William McDonald says, — 

1. " In regeneration, sin does not reign; in sanctifi- 
cation, it does not exist. 

2. "In regeneration, sin is suspended; in sanctifica- 
tion, it is destroyed. 

3. " In regeneration, irregular desires — anger, pride, 
unbelief, envy, &c. — are subdued; in sanctification, 
they are removed. 

4. " Regeneration is salvation from the voluntary 
commission of sin; sanctification is salvation from tho 
being of sin. 

5. " Regeneration is the old man bound ; sanctifica- 
tion is the old man cast out and spoiled of his goods. 

6. "Regeneration is sanctification begun ; entire sanc- 
tification is the work completed." 

16. Is there any difference between sin {properly 
speaking^ and depravity ? 

1. " Sin committed, and depravity felt, are very dif- 
ferent — the one is an action, the other a state of the 
affections. The merely regenerated believer is saved 
from the one, and has grace to enable him to have the 
victory over the other ; but the disposition itself, to some 
extent, remains, under the control of a stronger, gra- 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 31 

cious power implanted, but still making resistance, and 
indicating actual presence, and needing to be entirely 
sanctified" — Foster. 

2. " These [sin and depravity] are coupled together 
as though they were the same ; but they are not the 
same tiling. The guilt is one thing, the power another, 
and the being- yet another. That believers are delivered 
from the guilt and power of sin we allow; that they are 
delivered from the being of it we deny." — Wesley. 

The reader will bear in mind that the terms " inbred 
sin," " indwelling sin," and " inherent sin," are not 
used in this book as signifying sin proper, which " is 
the transgression of the law," but as alluding to the 
inward corruption, deformity, or depravity of the un- 
sanctified heart. It is not to be pardoned, like sin 
proper, but is to be extirpated and cleansed from the 
heart. 

17. Do the graces of the Spirit exist in the entirely 
sanctified without alloy ? 

They do. The graces in the sanctified are perfect 
in kind, but limited in degree. Eegeneration affords 
victory over sin subdued ; sanctification gives victory 
over sin exterminated and cast out, so that all the 
graces of the Spirit exist perfect in kind, that is, to4he 
exclusion of their oppo sites. 

Dr. Foster says, " These graces will exist in the sanc- 
tified soul without alloy, without mixture, in simplicity. 
There is nothing therein contrary to them, and they 
exist in measure corresponding to the present rapacity 
of the soul possessing them." 



82 THE NATURE OF 

There will be love without h atred, submission without 
rebellion, faith without unbelief humility without pride, 
meekness without anger, patience without impatience. 
and peace without strife. 

18. Does sanctification add any new virtues to the 
soul ? 

It does not ; it simply cleanses the soul from all in- 
dwelling sin, so as to allow the graces implanted in the 
soul at regeneration to exist without alloy, or without 
their opposites in the heart. All the graces in number 
are planted in the regenerated soul ; but they exist in 
connection with heart impurity until the soul is entirely 
sanctified. Luther Lee says, " It is not to be under- 
stood that sanctification adds any new virtues, which 
are not present in the regenerated soul, before entire* 
sanctification." 

" Though in regeneration all the elements of holiness 
are imparted, all the rudiments of inbred sin are not 
destroyed ; and hence, again, the absence of complete 
sanctification, which, when it occurs, expels all sin" 
— Poster. 

19. Do those who are regenerated merely, often 
think that all sin is taken away ? 

" How naturally do those who experience such a 
change [regeneration] imagine that all sin is gone, that 
it is entirely ruoted out of their hearts, and has no more 
place therein ! How easily do they draw that inference, 
' I feel no sin, therefore I have none ; it does not stir, 
therefore it does not exist ; it has no motion, therefore 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 33 

it Las no being ' ! But it is seldom long before they are 
undeceived, finding sin was only suspended, not de- 
stroyed" — Wesley. 

20. What has been the cause of so much prejudice 
and opposition to the doctrine of holiness among pro- 
fessors of religion? 

The doctrine has been misunderstood. Multitudes 
have misapprehended its true nature. It has generally 
been taken to mean more than was intended, and more 
than is taught by the standards of the church. There 
are thousands within the bosom of our own church 
who are astonishingly ignorant of the doctrine as taught 
by our standards. The very excellent works writ- 
ten upon this subject, and published at our book- 
room, are read by but a small part of our member- 
ship. A multitude of ministers among us are at 
fault in this matter for not seeking holiness themselves, 
and for not preaching it more clearly and strongly to 
the people. 

21. Will you give me a negative aspect of the doc* 
trine, and tell me what you do not include in Christian 
perfection ? Do you teach an absolute perfection ? 

"We teach absolute perfection in none but God. The 
brightest, the highest, the sweetest, and the most lovely 
angel in paradise is not absolutely perfect. Absolute 
perfection appertains only to G OD. In this sense, " there 
is none good but one, that is God." No standard author 
of Methodism has ever taught any such perfection in 
man. 



84 THE NATURE OF 

22 > Does Christian perfection make any one perfect 
like the angels ? 

We teach no angelic perfection in man while he is 
out of heaven. Angels are a higher order of intelli- 
gences, and maintain sinless purity. The fire of their 
love burns with an intensity, and their services are per- 
formed with a precision and rectitude, which are not 
possible to any mortal. Angels have none of the in- 
firmities of fallen human nature. They are not liable 
to mistake. In this world we must be contented with 
Christian perfection ; when we reach heaven, then we 
shall be " equal unto the angels." 

23. Does Christian perfection exclude a need of 
the atonement ? 

No. The sanctified soul trusts more perfectly and 
constantly in the atonement than any other. He is kept 
every moment by a present, simple faith in the atone- 
ment. Christian perfection increases the believer's con- 
sciousness of its necessity and inestimable worth, and 
enables him to see more clearly, an&feel more deeply, 
his constant dependence upon it. He, more than any 
other man, feels, — 

" Every moment, Lord, I need 
The merit of thy death." 

Holiness is retained from moment to moment only by 
resting on the merits of Christ. The pure in heart, in 
the strictest sense, " live by faith on the Son of God." 
Faith is the vital bond that unites the soul to Christ. 
S<^rer this vital connection, and the spiritual life of tha 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 35 

soul would cease at once. No man on probation can 
dispense with the atonement for a moment. We must 
ever abide in Christ. 

Dr. Clarke observes, " What is it that cleanseth the 
soul and destroys sin ? Is it not the mighty power of 
the grace of God ? What is it that keeps the soul clean ? 
Is it not the same power dwelling in us ? No more can 
an effect subsist without its cause, than a sanctified soul 
abide in holiness without the indwelling Sanetifier." 

Mr. Fletcher says, " To say that the doctrine of Chris- 
tian perfection supersedes the need of Christ's blood, is 
not less absurd than to assert that the perfection of 
navigation renders the great deep a useless reservoir of 
water." 

24. Does Christian perfection exclude the possibility 
of growing- in grace ? 

By no means. The pure in heart grow faster than 
any others. We believe in no state of grace, either on 
earth or in glory, beyond which there is no progression. 
We expect to grow with increasing rapidity through all 
eternity. If the perfect Christian ceases to grow, he 
will fall into sin, and may go to ruin. It is the same 
with the soul wholly sanctified as with the merely re- 
generate — it must go forward in order to retain its 
present state of grace. Here multitudes of both classes 
have fallen. There is no standing still in relig\on y nor 
in sin. We are either progressing or receding- If we 
are living up to our light and duty, we are grou ing, no 
matter what our state of grace may be, or ho\? largely 



36 THE NATURE OF 

we may have partaken of the Holy Ghost. If we are 
neglecting- present duty, we are backsliding, however 
great our attainments may have been.. 

25. How do you understand that a soul entirely 
sanctified can grow in grace, and, as you say, grou) even 
faster than any others ? 

The sanctified soul is saved from all sin, so that growth 
in grace, after entire sanctification, does not consist in 
any further process of separating sin from the soul, but 
in an increase of knowledge, love, and power ; an in- 
crease of holiness in measure, not in quality. From the 
time the soul is purified, (cleansed from all sin,) the 
Holy Ghost continues to enrich, enlighten, adorn, and 
bless with more and more of his presence and grace. 
Out powers are improvable, and our capacities expansive. 

The sanctified soul grows faster than any other, — 

1. Because he is nearer the fountain, in a better soil, 
and dwells in a purer atmosphere. 

2. Because all the antagonisms of grace have been 
taken out of his heart — all the internal obstacles to his 
growth have been removed. 

3. Because sanctification perfects the conditions of 
the largest and the most rapid growth in grace. Grace 
has a fair chance in a sanctified soul. A healthy child 
will grow faster in stature and strength than a sickly, 
diseased one. A sanctified soul is just prepared for a 
steady, thrifty, rapid growth. The very conditions '-'of 
obtaining sanctification are the precise conditions of re- 
taining it, and of growth in grace, while retaining it. 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 37 

The holy Fletcher says, " A perfect Christian grows 
far more than a feeble believer, whose growth is still 
obstructed by the shady thorns of sin, and by the drain- 
ing suckers of iniquity." 

26. What constitute the greatest hinder ances to 
growth in grace ? 

Those hinderances which are at home, in our own 
hearts ; the remains of an unsanctified nature within ; 
roots of bitterness ; real, living, stirring, inward evils. 
These bosom foes are our worst ones, and hinder our 
growth in grace more than all others combined. 

27. Does Christian perfection exclude a liability to 
temptation ? 

It does not. Adam and Eve were tempted in Eden. 
Our holy Saviour was tempted. If temptation is in- 
compatible with holiness, then the blessed Saviour was 
unholy. He had a long and bitter siege of temptation 
during forty days in the wilderness. He was tempted 
even to kneel down and worship the devil. He was 
" in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" 
If temptation is inconsistent with holiness, then Adam 
and Eve were unholy before their fall. A liability to 
temptation is an unchangeable condition of probation. 
So long as we are in the world, so long as Satan goeth 
about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, 
so long as we have five senses which come in contact 
with a world abounding with evil, we may expect to be 
tempted. It is no sin to be tempted, provided proper cau- 
tion has been used to avoid the occasions of temptation. 

4 



38 THE NATURE OP 

28. Does Christian perfection exclude the possibility 
of falling away ? 

It does not exclude the possibility of apostasy ; but 
it does render apostasy much less probable. It pos- 
sesses every element of strength and stability. Perfect 
love makes a strong fortress of the heart. This fortress 
will be attacked, but is not as liable to be taken as it 
would be without holiness. A liability to sin and fall 
is an essential condition of probation. We must wait 
for absolute security until we arrive at heaven. Holi- 
ness secures the safest possible condition on earth. 
But perfect, sinless Adam fell, and we shall always 
find it necessary to watch and pray, and keep our 
hearts with all diligence, and our bodies under. We 
are to u work out our salvation with fear and trem- 
bling. 7 ' Perfect love does not cast out the fear of 
caution or of prudence. In this sense, " the righteous 
feareth always." Grace never induces presumption. 
" Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take 
heed lest he fall." 

29. Are the temptations of the sanctified soul the 
same as those of persons merely regenerated? 

While they are essentially the same, yet the tempta 
tions of each of these two classes are peculiar to them- 
selves. If we mistake not, the temptations of the 
entirely sanctified are usually sharper and shorter than 
others. They are also entirely from without, as there 
are no foes within a sanctified heart ; all is peaceful 
friendly, and right there. The temptations of a sano- 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 39 

tified soul find no favorable response from within, 
while those of the unsanctified soul do, more or less. 
In the one case, temptations find corrupt impulses in 
the heart in their favor ; in the other they find none. 

Dr. G. Peck says, " The great difference between 
the temptations of those who are entirely sanctified and 
those who are not, is, that the temptation coming into 
contact with the latter, often stirs the sediment of cor- 
ruption, while, assaulting with equal violence the for- 
mer, it meets with uniform resistance, and leaves no 
trace behind, but an increase of moral power and the 
fruits of a new triumph." 

30. When does temptation end and sin begin ? 

1. No temptation or evil suggestion to the mind 
becomes sin till it is tolerated. Sin consists in yielding 
to temptation. So long as the soul maintains its in- 
tegrity, so that temptation finds no sympathy within, 
no sin is committed, and the soul remains unlmrmed, 
no matter how protracted or severe the fiery trial may 
prove. 

2. Dr. Foster says, " To this most difficult question 
we answer, Sin begins whenever the temptation begins 
to find inward sympathy, if known to be a solicitation 
to sin. So long as it is promptly, and with the full 
and hearty concurrence of the soul, repelled, there is 
no indication of inward sympathy, there is no sin." 

8. Dr. G. Peck says, "First, I suppose all will admit 
that when the temptation gains the concurrence of the 
will, the subject contracts guilt. There can be no 



40 THE NATURE OP 

doubt here. Secondly. It is equally clear that when the 
temptation begets in the mind a desire for the forbidden 
object, the subject enters into temptation] and so sins 
against God. Thirdly. It is also clear that temptation 
can not be invited or unnecessarily protracted without 
an indication of a sinful tendency toward the forbidden 
object, and, consequently, such a course not only im- 
plies the absence of entire sanetification, but involves 
the subject in actual guilt." 

31. Does Christian perfection make any one perfect 
in knowledge ? 

It does not. There are a thousand things we shall 
never know in this life. Here we see through a glass 
darkly. Now we are children in knowledge ; now we 
know only in part. But, while Christian perfection 
makes no one perfect in knowledge, it does secure a 
more extended and complete knowledge of God than 
can be otherwise attained. Of those sanctified wholly, 
it may be emphatically said, they " walk in the light 
as he is in the light; " and again, " Now are ye light in 
the Lord." "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they 
shall see God." The perfect in love have a more clear 
apprehension of God, of his presence, and of spiritual 
things, (other circumstances being equal,) than any 
others. 

It will be admitted that a penitent, convicted sinner 
has more light than an impenitent, unconvicted one. 
It will also be admitted that a converted, justified soul 
has still more light than a convicted penitent. We 



CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 41 

claim that a soul entirely sanctified and filled with per- 
fect love has still greater light than the soul merely 
regenerated. Such can sing, — 

" Blest are the pure in heart, 
For they shall see our God ; 
The secret of the Lord is theirs ; 
Their soul is his abode." 

32. Does Christian perfection exclude the infirmities 
of human nature ? 

It does not. Freedom from these can not be ex 
pected in this world. We must wait for deliverance 
from these imperfections until this mortal puts on im- 
mortality. These infirmities, so numerous and various, 
are the common inheritance of humanity. They are 
not sins ; they are innocent ; and although they are 
our misfortune, they are included in the " all things " 
which, by the grace and blessing of God, shall work 
together for our good. Although Christian perfection 
does not admit of any outward or inward sin, properly 
so called, yet it admits of strong convictions of num- 
berless infirmities and imperfections, such as slowness 
of understanding, errors of judgment, mistakes in 
practice, erratic imaginations, and a treacherous mem- 
ory, &c. If it be claimed that these innocent infirm- 
ities need the blood of atonement, we will have no 
quarrel with any body, but will praise the Lord that 
the blood of Jesus meets every demand. 

33. How may holiness be perfect, and yet be pro- 
gressive ? 

Holiness in a sanctf £od soul is complete in kind % but 

4 * 



42 HOLINESS ATTAINABLE. 

it is limited in degree. While it is perfect in kina, it 
may increase even more rapidly in degree than before. 
Perfection in quality does not exclude increase in 
quantity. The capacities of the soul are progressive, 
and holiness should increase in measure corresponding 
to its increasing capacity ; it should be in harmony with 
the present powers and capacities of the soul. The 
powers and capacities of the sanctified soul increase or 
expand more rapidly than those of the unsanctified. 
Sin degenerates, cripples, and enervates ; holiness 
quickens, invigorates, and secures the best possible 
foundation for the expansion and development of all 
the faculties of the soul. We repeat, holiness may im- 
prove or progress in measure, but not in quality. 
Faith, love, humility, and patience may be perfect in 
kind, and yet increase in volume and power — in meas- 
ure. A. drop of water may increase in quantity, whil* 
it is pure or perfect in quality. 



SECTION FIFTH. 

HOLINESS ATTAINABLE. 

34. Will you present some evidences that holinesr *f 
attainable ? 

The Bible teaches plainly, (1.) That God com- 
mands us to be holy. (2.) That God exhorts us to be 
holy. (3.) That God promises holiness to us. (4.) 
That all the commands and promises, in regard to lioli 



HOLINESS ATTAINABLE. 43 

ness, stand correlated to each other. (5.) That Christ 
and the apostles prayed for it. (6.) That it has been 
experienced. (7.) That God has made ample p/ovis 
ion in the gospel for it. (8.) That it is the great ob- 
ject for which the Holy Ghost dwells in the heart of the 
Christian. (9.) That it is the grand object of an 
established ministry. (10.) It teaches that God en- 
courages all Christians to seek it, and expect it. (11.) 
The incidental declarations of the Bible teach its attain- 
ability. (12.) The Bible does not allow us to admift 
either that God can tantalize his people with vain hopes 
and promises, or can enjoin on them things impossible 
for them to do. (13.) We claim that holiness is 
attainable from the nature of the work, and the means 
by which it is accomplished. 

1. We argue the possibility of attaining this state 
from the fact that God expressly commands it. " Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all 
thy strength, and thy neighbor as thyself." " Be ye 
holy, for I am holy." " Be perfect, even as your Father 
which is in heaven is perfect." 

Would God utter impracticable orders ? These com- 
mands are just as authoritative as any in the Bible ; 
and if holiness is not attainable, God commands what 
is impossible. 

2. We argue the possibility of attaining this state 
from the fact that we are expressly exhorted to be 
holy. " Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, 
let us cleanse ourselves from all filihtness of the flesh 



44 HOLINESS ATTAINABLE. 

and spirit, perfecting 1 holiness in the fear of God." 
" Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of 
Christ, let us go on unto perfection." All the require- 
ments of God are based on man's ability through grace. 
God requires no impossibilities. 

3. We argue the possibility of attaining this state 
from the fact that it is expressly promised in the Scrip- 
tures. " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, 
and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from 
all your idols, will I cleanse you." " Blessed are they 
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness [holi- 
ness] ; for they shall be filled" " I will also save you 
from all your uncleanness." We have just as strong 
evidence that holiness is promised to Christians as that 
it is required of them. The promises for entire sancti- 
fication are among the most full and express promises 
in the Bible. Does God mean to tantalize man by 
these promises ? 

We may just as consistently and hopefully insist 
upon, and urge Christians to lay hold on Christ for 
sanctifying grace, as to urge sinners to lay hold on 
Christ for pardon and regeneration. 

4. We argue that a state of entire sanctification is 
attainable from the fact that the commands and promises 
of God are correlated to each other. What God com- 
mands, he promises to aid us in doing. 

Command. — "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart" &c. 

Promise. — " And the Lord thy God will circumcise 
thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord 



HOLINESS ATTAINABLE. 46 

thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that 
thou mayst live." 

Command. — " Be ye holy, for I am holy." 

Promise. — " From all your filthiness and from all 
your idols will I cleanse you." 

Command. — "I am the almighty God ; walk before 
me, and be thou perfect." 

Promise. — " My grace is sufficient for thee ; " and 
<w Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." 

The Bible enjoins duty, but never without the promise 

of all needful grace to perform it. We understand 

this to be a universal law of the gospel economy. The 

^promises, like the commands, are in the present tense. 

TJiey are on demand. 

5. We argue the possibility of attaining this state 
from the declarations of Scripture. " Jesus Christ is 
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctift- 
cation, and redemption." " And that ye put on the 
new man, which after God is created in righteousness 
and true holiness." " To the end that he may establish 
your hearts unblamable in holiness before God." " For 
God hath not called us unto uncle anness, but unto holi- 
ness." If these, with kindred declarations, are true, 
holiness is attainable. If they are not true, the Bible 
; s a fabrication. 

G. We argue the possibility of attaining holiness 
from the fact that Christ and the apostles prayed for it. 
" Sanctify them through thy truth." " Thy kingdom 
come ; thy will be done on earth as it is done in heav 
en ; deliver us from evil." " Create in me a clean hearty 



46 HOLINESS ATTAINABLE. 

, God ; and renew a right spirit within me." " And 
the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and I pray 
God your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved 
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ/' 

The inspired men make holiness the subject of defi- 
nite, fervent, and earnest prayer. If they did not be- 
lieve holiness attainable they would not have prayed 
for it. If they did not believe it attainable they were 
guilty of solemn mockery. Who is prepared to believe 
this ? 

7. We argue that holiness is attainable from the fact, 
that it is taught in the Bible as having- been experienced. 
" And such were some of you : but ye are washed^ 
but ye are sanctified." " And Herod feared John, 
knowing that he was a just man, and a holy." " They 
were both [Zacharias and Elisabeth] righteous before 
God, walking in all the commandments of the Lord 
blameless." " Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, 
be thus minded." " Ye are witnesses, and God also, 
how holily and justly, and unblamably, we behaved our- 
selves among you that believed." 

These passages need no comment ; they are plain and 
positive. 

8. We argue that holiness is attainable from the 
fact that God has made provision in the gospel for it. 
k< For what the law could not do, in that it was weak 
through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the like- 
ness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the 
flesh ; that the righteousness of the law might be ful- 
filled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the 



HOLINESS ATTAINABLE. 17 

spirit." The Bible positively affirms that provision is 
male in the gospel for our sanctification. " Who his 
own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that 
we, being dead to sins, might live unto righteousness ." 
i; Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteous- 
ness, and sanctification, and redemption." " Where- 
fore Jesus, that he might sanctify the people with his 
own blood, suffered without the gate." The means 
which God has provided are every way ample. The 
blood of Christ atones for our guilt ; his merit obtains 
for us all necessary grace, and his Spirit can enlighten 
our minds, renew us after the image of God, and fill us 
with all the fruits of righteousness. We have the same 
evidence from the Bible, that provision is made for the 
entire sanctification of Christians, that we have that 
provision is made for the regeneration and justification 
of sinners. 

9. We argue that holiness is attainable, from the fact 
that it is the declared object for which the Holy Ghost 
diveUs in the heart of the Christian. " For this cause 
I oow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth 
is named, that he would grant you, according to the 
riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by 
his Spirit in the inner man ; that Christ may dwell in 
your hearts by faith ; that ye, being rooted and ground- 
ed in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints 
what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and hight ; 
and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge ; 
that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God" 



48 HOLINESS ATTAINABLE. 

10. We argue that sanctification is attainable, from 
the fact, that God has given us The Word as the instru- 
mental means of effecting it. " Sanctify them through 
thy truth; thy word is truth." " Ye are clean through 
the word which I have spoken unto you." " All Scrip- 
ture is given by inspiration of God . . . that the man 
of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all 
good works." The Word declares its necessity, points 
to the cleansing blood, and to the Holy Ghost, as the 
efficient agent. " Through the sanctification of the 
Spirit, and the belief of the truth" 

11. We argue that holiness is attainable, from the 
fact that it is the grand object of an established minis- 
try . " And he gave some, apostles ; and some, proph- 
ets ; and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teach- 
ers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of 
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Chris" 
till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of th 
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, untc 
the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." 

12. We argue that holiness is attainable, from the 
fact, that its attainability lays the only adequate foun- 
dation for vigorous and prayerful efforts to be holy. 
All admit that we are bound to aim at holiness. To 
aim at a state, without the expectation of reaching it, 
is a hard task, and must render our efforts powerless, 
if holiness is not attainable in this life, to seek it is to 
act in opposition to a principle that is considered neces- 
sary to efficient action on every other subject. 



PERFECT LOVE. 49 



SECTION SIXTH. 

THE TIME BETWEEN REGENERATION AND ENTIRE 
SANCTIFICATION. 

35. How soon after regeneration may the soul be 

entirely sanctified ? 

1. There is no time stated in the Scriptures which 
must elapse after conversion before the soul can be 
entirely sanctified. In regard to time, the only pre- 
requisite to the seeking of holiness is the justified and 
regenerate state. Even " babes in Christ " are exhorted 
41 to go on unto perfection," and all believers are included 
in the command, " Be ye holy, for I am holy." The 
great declaration, "It is the will of God, even your 
sanctification," has always been true of every believer, 
and was originally addressed to heathen converts who 
were but babes in Christ. " To-day," the present time, 
is the voice of both the Law and of the Gospel in regard 
to our sanctification. It is the duty and privilege now 
of all believers to have hearts cleansed from sin, and 
filled with love. 

2. When we are first converted, then we should press 
on into the goodly land which flows with milk and 
honey. Then, when the kingdom of God is first set up 
in our hearts, the course is short, and the difficulties 
are comparatively few, and we can not be too early, or 
too much in earnest, about this business. 

The distance from regeneration to entire sanctifica* 

5 



50 TIME BLTWEEN REGENERATION 

tion is not great, and may be soon passed over, if wg 
are obedient to our spiritual guide, and do not grieve 
the Holy Spirit, or fall into sin. 

The whole camp of Israel consumed only about eleven 
days in traveling from Horeb to Kadesh-harnea, which 
was on the very borders of Canaan, and in sight of the 
beautiful hills of that land which flowed with milk and 
honey. The Israelites were forty long years in the 
wilderness, when they might have entered their long- 
promised Canaan in less than one month. In our 
humble opinion, there are full six hundred thousand 
believers in the Methodist Church to-day who ought to 
pass over into Canaan in less than a month. Some of 
them have been more than forty years in the wilderness ! 
I pray the Lord to raise up in the ministry a thousand 
Calebs and Joshuas to lead the people over. 

3. As this question is of vast importance, you will 
allow me to give you several authorities upon it. 

John Wesley says, " I have been lately thinking a 
good deal on one point, wherein, perhaps, we have all 
been wanting. We have not made it a rule, as soon as 
ever persons are justified, to remind them of ' going on 
unto perfection? Whereas this is the very time pref- 
erable to all others. They have then the simplicity 
of little children ; and they are fervent in spirit, ready 
to cut off a right hand or pluck out the right eye. But 
if we once suffer this fervor to subside, we shall find it 
hard enough to bring them again even to this point. 

" Every one, though born of God in an instant, yea, 
and sanctified in an instant, yet undoubtedly grows, 



AND ENTIRE SANCTIFICA1I0N. 51 

by slow degrees, both after the former and the latter 
change. But it does not folloio from thence that there 
may be a considerable tract of time between the one and 
the other. A year or a month is the same with God as 
a thousand. It is therefore our duty to pray and look 
for full salvation every day, every hour, every moment, 
without waiting until we have either done or suffered 
more. 

" Many at Macclesfield believed that the blood of 
Christ had cleansed them from all sin. I spoke to 
these forty in all one by one. Some of them said 
they received that blessing ten days, some seven, some 
four, some three days, after they found peace with God, 
and two of them the next day." He gives a remarkable 
instance of Grace Paddy, who was "convinced of sin, 
converted to God, and renewed in love, within twelve 
hours. 

" With God one day is as a thousand years. It 
plainly follows that the quantity of time is nothing to 
him. Centuries, years, months, days, hours, and mo- 
ments are exactly the same. Consequently he can as 
well sanctify in a day after ive are justified as a hun- 
dred years. There is no difference at all, unless we 
suppose him to be such a one as ourselves. Accord- 
ingly, we see, in fact, that some of the most ungues- 
tionable witnesses of sanctifying grace were sanctified 
within a few days after they were justified." No won- 
der that he exclaims, " 0, why do we not encourage ail 
to expect this blessing every hour from the moment they 
me justified ?" 



52 THE TIME BETWEEN 

Mr. Wesley wrote io Freeborn Garrettson, " It will 
be well, as soon as any seekers find peace with God, to 
exhort them to go on unto perfection." 

Mrs. H. A. Rogers says, in regard to the work of 
sanctification in Dublin, " The work of sanctification, 
or perfect love, as received in a moment , and by faith 
alone , had met with great opposition here till Mr. 
Fletcher came, and clearly, fully, and constantly 
insisted on it" 

4. Rev. Asa Kent, late of the Providence Conference, 
says, " Fifty and sixty years ago, young converts were 
exhorted to improve their ' first love,' while their hearts 
were warm, in seeking for full sanctification ; that this 
would prevent their backsliding, and secure a perma- 
nent peace within. Before I had been in society one 
year, my soul hungered and thirsted after a clean heart, 
and I was resolved never to rest without it." 

5. Rev. Benjamin Abbott says of one of his meet- 
ings, " And before the meeting was over, six or seven 
professed sanctification of soul, among whom was the 
wife of J. Brick, Esq., who had been justified only eight 
days before ." 

6. Rev. Luther Lee says, " This progressive work 
may be cut short and finished at any moment, when the 
intelligence clearly comprehends the defects of the 
present state, and faith, comprehending the power and 
willingness of God to sanctify us wholly, and do it now, 
is exercised." 

7. Dr. Jesse T. Peck says, " There is surely no time 
fixed in the Scriptures which must elapse before the 



REGENERATION AND SANCTIFICATION. 53 

work can be accomplished. The Saviour prays for his 
disciples, ' Sanctify them through thy truth,' assuming 
that they were all at that time eligible to this great 
blessing. . . . Indeed, there has been such variety in 
the periods of entire sanctification- as to show clearly 
that no specific time must elapse before the converted 
man may enter into the rest of perfect love." 

8. President Mahan says, "This is the very sentiment 
which is invariably impressed by the Spirit of God 
upon the young convert in the warmth of his early 
love. The language and sentiment of every such 
heart is, — 

' Lord, I make a full surrender ; 
Every thought and power be thine, - 

Thine entirely, — 
Through eternal ages thine.' 

With the young convert this is not a poetical hyper- 
bole, but the real sentiment and conviction of the 
heart." 

9. Rev. James Caughey says, " To hasten over into 
the spiritual Canaan is among the first lessons of the 
Holy Spirit after conversion." - 

The Bible says, "Noio is the accepted time, noiv is 
the day of salvation." The command, " Be ye holy," 
is in the present tense, and binding upon all believers 
without regard to the length of time since their con- 
version. Paul wrote to heathen converts in the city of 
Thessalonica not more than six months old, " This is 
the will of God, even your sanctification." Any delay 
of entire sanctification beyond the period necessary to 

5* 



54 PERFECT LOVE. 

acquire a knowledge of its necessity, its nature, and the 
conditions of its attainment, is justly chargeable upon 
ourselves. 

36. Does the Scripture imagery employed to illus* 
irate the work of entire sanctification imply rapidity and 
* dispatch ? 

It does. The imagery employed is that of mortifica- 
tion, death by crucifixion, refining metals, the working 
of leaven, and the cleansing of the leper. 

'^Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon 
the earth." " Our old man is crucified with Christ." 
"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean" " The 
kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman 
took and hid in three measures of meal, till the -whole 
was leavened." "I will turn my hand upon thee, and 
purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy 
tin." 

The process in all these cases is rapid, and soon ac- 
complished. In neither of them is it continued through 
even a week. The work of mortification, crucifixion, 
refining metals, and of leavening the whole lump is 
usually accomplished in less than twenty-fott/ hours, 
and never extends through a series of years. ' ■ Bohold, 
xow is the day of salvation." 



PERFECT LOYE. 55 

SECTION SEVENTH. 

HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED BY GROWTH IN GRACE, 

37. Can a person successfully seek the gradual 
attainment of entire sanctification ? 

No ; and for the following among other reasons : — 

1. He who seeks the gradual attainment of entire 
sanctification seeks necessarily something less than 
entire sanctification noiv ; that is, he does not seek 
entire sanctification at all. 

2. He who does not aim at the extirpation of all sin 
from his heart now, tolerates some sin in his heart now. 
But he who tolerates sin in his heart is not in a condi- 
tion to offer acceptable prayer to God. " If I regard 
iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Dr. 
F. G. Hibbard says, " We deny that a man ever yet 
gained the victory over any sin while his will retained 
it, even with the most secret or tacit approbation 
God will have a thorough work ; &ndfull salvation will 
never be given but on condition of entire, universal, 
imconditional abandonment of all sin, and acceptance 
and approval of all the will of God. Then, and not till 
then, will come the word that speaks us whole." 

3. To seek a gradual purity renders the attainment 
of entire sanctification impossible. It does so because 
it excludes the conditions of entire sanctification. The 
faith which is the proximate condition of entire sanc- 
tification can be exercised only in connection with the 



56 HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED 

renunciation of all sin, and complete submission to God 
Conscious confidence and conscious guilt can not exist 
in the same heart at the same time ; the former ex- 
cludes the latter. 

38. Can a state of entire sanctification be secured 
by growth in grace merely ? 

As this is a mooted question, as well as an important 
one. you will allow me to present a somewhat lengthy 
answer, and give you a number of quotations upon it 
from the leading writers in the church. The opinion 
has become somewhat general, among professors of reli- 
gion, that they can obtain deliverance from sin and a 
state of Christian purity by growth in grace. This 1 
regard as a serious mistake, and productive of much 
evil. I regard it as anti-Wesleyan and anti-scriptural. 

The sin which remains in a believer who is not entire- 
ly sanctified consists of inbred corruption. It is not sin, 
properly speaking, but inward corruption, or depravity — . 
the natural effect of sin proper. (See Sec. IV. Ques. 16.) 
It may remain in the soul subsequently to regenera- 
tion, and manifest itself in the form of perverted pas- 
sions, propensities, and appetites, which at times stri% 
gle for indulgence and the mastery. It does not 
reign; if it did, sin would be committed, justification 
lost, and a foundation laid for repentance from dead 
works. Although it may rise, and struggle for the 
ascendency, at times, a»d distress the soul, yet, if the 
soul maintains its integrity, and the will remains firm, 
no sin is committed, however much depravity may be 



BY GROWTH IN GRACE. bl 

felt. " He that is born of God doth not commit nn" 
and " He that committeth sin is of the devil." " In 
this [committing sin or otherwise] the children of God 
are manifest, and the children of the devil." 

Certainly no man can love God with all his heart, 
or be entirely sanctified, so long as this depravity or 
ii: dwelling sin (as it is usually called) be not removed. 
This inward foe must be expelled before perfect love 
can be enjoyed. Growth in grace will secure increas- 
ing light, and afford increasing power to overcome and 
keep in subjection inbred sin, but does not eradi- 
cate it. 

The question is, Can inbred sin be exterminated by a 
growth in grace merely ? 

1. Let me observe, first, a growth in grace involves 
just what its terms indicate — an increase and improve- 
ment of our present grace, and not the extermination 
of remaining sin. We are to grow in grace, but not 
into it. By every effort and act of the soul in resisting 
temptation from without, or the risings of depravity 
within, it gains increasing strength, but this does not 
extirpate indwelling sin. So long as a regenerated 
s^iil retains a justified state, its light and grace will 
increase, though its inbred sin be not removed. In- 
creasing light will reveal more clearly the remaining 
deformity and sin in the heart, thouglf it can not 
remove it. An increase of patience will afford a more 
easy and complete victory over impatience ; but that 
does not remove inbred sin from the heart — the cause 
of the tendency to impatience, which inheres to the 



58 HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED 

soul, and can not be removed by the mere increase or 
improvement of any grace. 

An increase of love will secure a more easy and 
perfect victory over all its opposing influences in the 
heart, but does not remove the cause of those opposing 
influences. 

Eev. William Eeddy says, " This salvation is not 
reached by 'growing up into itf nor by works, ' as the 
Pelagians do vainly talk.' Weeds in a garden are not 
grown out by the growth of useful plants and vegeta- 
bles ; they must be dug or pulled up. Remaining sin 
in the heart is not removed by the growth of Christian 
virtues." 

The difficulty which a mere growth in grace does 
not reach is inherent depravity deep in the soul, exhib- 
iting itself in the appetites, affections, and tendencies 
of the unsanctified heart. The removal of this inward 
corruption, the fruitful cause of these unlawful risings, 
cravings, and tendencies, is not the work of growth in 
grace, however much such growth may stun it, lessen 
its power, and prevent its operations. 

By growth in grace we may increase in knowledge ; 
habits of virtue may strengthen ; the graces of ^ie 
Spirit, in a measure, may become more and more 
matured, established, and fortified, — and yet the soul 
remain unsaved from its inbred sin. Its removal is 
an instantaneous and not a gradual work. The prep- 
aration for its extirpation may be gradual; but its 
expulsion, and the reception of a purified state, are 
instantaneous. 



BY GROWTH IN GRACE. 59 

"Rev. Timothy Merritt replies to the idea of a gradual 
sanctifi cation, obtained by growth in grace, little by 
little, as follows : " The work may be accomplished in 
one day or one hour, and yet be a gradual or progres- 
sive work. A long time is not necessary in order to a 
gradual work of this kind. The gradations may be as 
follows : — 

1. " Light is imparted to the soul. 

2. " Conviction is fastened upon the conscience. 

3. " A desire springs up to be delivered from all sin. 

4. " He confesses, and prays for deliverance. 

5. " He is convinced that he can not cleanse his own 
heart, and therefore he casts himself upon the mercy 
of God for this. 

6. " The work is wrought in him. Now, it is evident 
these several actions may be performed in a short 
time." 

We remark, if this process be correct, — and we 
maintain that it is, — how clear that the soul is not 
being sanctified at all during what is called the gradual 
process, or during the first five items mentioned ! Ob- 
taining light, receiving conviction, hungering after 
purity, and confession, and prayer, are in no sense the 
work of sanctifying the soul. They may all exist, and 
the soul yet remain unsanctified. They precede sanc- 
tifieation ; but they do not effect it, and certainly they 
do not constitute its identity. The sinner undergoes a 
similar process before his conversion ; but his receiving 
light and conviction, and his confession, prayers, and 
repentance, do not convert him. They only precede 
his conversion. 



60 HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED 

Will the reader please note carefully the following, 
from the pen of John Wesley ? — " Indeed, this is so 
evident a truth that well nigh all the children of God, 
scattered abroad, however they differ in other points, 
yet generally agree in this — that although we may 
' by the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body,' resist and 
conquer both outward and inward sin, — although we 
may weaken our enemies day by day, — yet we can not 
drive them out. By all the grace which is given at 
justification we can not extirpate them. Though we 
watch and pray ever so much, we can not wholly 
cleanse either our hearts or hands. Most sure we can 
not till it please our Lord to speak to our hearts again 
— to speak the second time. Be clean ; and then only 
the leprosy is cleansed. Then only the evil root, the 
carnal mind, is destroyed ; inbred sin subsists no 
more. But if there be no such second change ; if 
there be no instantaneous deliverance after justifica- 
tion ; if there be none but a gradual work of God, 
(that there is a gradual work-none denies,) — then we 
must be content, as well as we can, to remain full of 
bin till death." This is clear, and to the point. 

The struggles of inbred sin for mastery may grad- 
, ally cease ; and from this consideration some believers 
have come to think their deliverance from sin a gradual 
process. While its struggles for unlawful indulgence 
may gradually cease, it still exists in the heart in a 
stunned or dormant state. It may be brought under 
and kept under, and yet be neither dead nor expelled 
from the heart. Mr. Wesley says, " How naturally do 



BY GROWTH IN GRACE. 61 

those who experience such a change [regeneration] sup- 
pose that all sin is gone ; that it is utterly rooted out of 
their hearts, and has no more place in them ! How easily 
do they draw that inference, I feel no sin, therefore 1 
have none ; it does not stir, therefore it does not exist ; 
it has no motion, therefore it has no being ! But it is 
seldom long before they are undeceived, finding that 
sin was only suspended, not destroyed. Temptations 
return and sin revives, showing that it was stunned 
before, and not dead" 

The growing Christian may often have such complete 
victory over sin, and it may remain so quiet in his 
heart, as to lead him to think it has been removed, 
while it is only in subjection, its struggles for indul- 
gence having ceased for the time being. 

Growing in grace is not the process of separating 
sin from the soul either before or after entire sanctifi- 
cation. Growing in grace is the improvement of the 
present stock of grace in the heart. It secures an in- 
creasing abhorrence of sin, an increasing knowledge 
of God, of ourselves, and of our duty. It secures an 
increased strength of all the graces of the Spirit. It 
will secure an increasing attachment to Christ and his 
cause. But all this does not extirpate inherent sin ; 
it only keeps it under, and renders victory over it more 
easy and complete. Its extermination is not to be 
looked for by growth in grace, but through creating, 
cleansing power. 

Rev. P. G. Hibbard says, " It has long appeared to 
us that many who are seeking after entire holiness 

6 



62 HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED 

mistaKe the duty of a gradual growth in grace, and 
the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, for a gradual 
growing out of sin. They seem to think that the two 
mutually involve each other, and that as they must 
always grow up into Christ in all things, so they must 
by degrees grow out of the bondage, guilt, and pollu- 
tion of sin." . . . " Now, to all such we would say 
one word of admonition. There is no gradual growing 
out of sin. All that partakes of the proper nature of 
sin in you must be forgiven and washed away through 
faith in the blood of the Lamb. When this is done, 
it is an instantaneous work." . . . "Sin is not a 
thing to be grown out of but a thing to be forgiven 
and to be cleansed away." . . . "In this view of per- 
fection, [the improvement and maturity of the graces 
of the Spirit,] there are degrees and progressive stages ; 
but in the work of simply cleansing from all sin, 
both ' of flesh and spirit,' inbred and overt sin, there 
are no degrees, no progressive stages, but the work 
is complete at the first, and instantaneous as to time, 
performed by the Holy Ghost just at the moment when 
the burdened soul has faith to be made every whit 
whole." 

Mr. Wesley says, "Inquiring [in 1761] how it was 
that in all these parts we had so few witnesses of fid. 
solvation, I constantly received one and the same an- 
swer : ' We see now we sought it by our works; we 
thought it was to come gradually ; we never expected 
it to come in a moment, by simple faith, in the very 
same manner as we received justification? What won- 



BY GROWTH IN GRACE. 63 

iJer is it, then, that you have been fighting all these 
years as one that beateth the air ! " 

2. I remark, in the second place, the fact that in- 
bred sin is a unit, a simple principle of evil, is proof 
that we can not obtain freedom from it by growth in 
grace. Though it may have a thousand varied mani- 
festations, it is the same evil principle in every form of 
its operations. While it may impregnate the whole 
soul, it has its leading channels, and those varying in 
different persons. St. Paul particularly describes the 
streams which flow from this fountain — " adultery, 
fornication, uncleanness,' lasciviousness, . . . variance,, 
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, 
murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like." 

Mr. Wesley, in speaking of regenerated but unsanc- 
tified souls, says, " They now feel two principles in 
themselves plainly contrary to each other." These 
principles he calls " nature" and "grace" Paul calls 
them the u flesh " and the " spirit." Mr. Wesley at- 
tributes feelings of pride, self-will, anger, unbelief, and 
all the unlawful appetites and tendencies to this evil 
principle. He says, " Sin remains in him, [the justified 
and regenerated,] yea, the SEED op all sin, till he is 
sanctified throughout." St. Paul says, " If ye live after 
the flesh ye shall die ; " and again, " As many as are 
led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." 

This " principle," or " flesh," or " nature," or " in- 
bred sin," or whatever it may be called, is not removed 
by any gradual process. Grace, its opposing principle, 
was not implanted in the soul gradually ; neither is 



64 HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED 

inbred sin, the antagonism of grace, exterminated from 
the soul gradually. As there was a gradual process be- 
fore the principle of grace was implanted, so there may 
be a preparatory process before sin is exterminated. 
The gradual process in the one case did not break the 
power of sin and implant grace ; neither does the pre- 
paratory work in the other exterminate sin and secure 
purity. ' 

Inherent sin can not be removed by drying up its lead- 
ing channels, neither can it be divided, and subdivided, 
and removed by parts from the soul. Dr. Adam Clarke 
says, u We are to come to God for an instantaneous and 
complete purification from all sin, as for instantaneous 
pardon. In no part of the Scriptures are we directed 
to seek the remission of sins seriatim — one now and 
another then, and so on. Neither in any part are we 
directed to seek holiness by gradation. Neither a gra- 
dation pardon nor a gradation purification exists in 
the Bible/' 

God does not cleanse one depraved appetite and then 
another, and so on until inbred sin is all removed from 
xhe soul. This evil principle, the difficulty, lies back 
of these appetites and propensities, and though they 
may be gradually subdued and brought under, yet the 
removal of sin from the soul is an instantaneous opera- 
tion. 

Mr. Wesley says, " You may obtain a groiving vic- 
tory over sin from the moment you are justified. But 
this is not enough. The body of sin, the carnal mind y 
must be destroyed; the old man must be slain, or we 



BY GROWTH IN GRACE. 65 

can not put on the new man, which is created after Gjd, 
(or which is the image of God,) in righteousness and 
true holiness ; and this ^s done in a moment. To talk of 
this ivork as being gradual, would be nonsense, as much 
as if we talked of gradual justification." 

The Rev. James Caughey says, " I would inquire 
whether the sins of a believing penitent are pardoned 
gradually, — that is, one by one, one now, and another 
then, — or en masse, all together, and at once, — that is, 
instantaneously. If you affirm the latter, then no fur- 
ther argument is needed to prove that the blessing of 
' entire sanctificalion ' is received instantaneously also, 
seeing that the instrumentality QfaitJi) is the same, differ- 
ing only in the object for which it is exercised ; the 
penitent believing for pardon, the justified believer for 
vurity." 

Mr. Wesley says, " As to manner, I believe this per- 
fection is always wrought in the soul by a simple act 
of faith ; consequently in an instant." lie further says, 
" Look for it every day, every hour, every moment. 
Why not this hour — this moment ? Certainly you may 
look for it now, if you believe it is by faith. And by 
this token you maysurely know whether you seek it by 
faith or by works. If by works, you want something 
to be done first before you are sanctified. You think, 1 
must be or do thus or thus. Then you are seeking it by 
works unto this day. If you seek it by faith, you expect 
it as you are ; and if as you are, then expect it now. 
It is important to observe that there is an inseparable 
connection between these three points — expect it by 



66 HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED 

faith, expect it as you are, and expect it now. To den? 

ONE IS TO DENY THEM ALL." 

The strength and vitality of sin may be more and 
more paralyzed and stunned, and yet remain the. same 
in nature, possessing all its essential elements so long as 
it has any being, or until it is extirpated. Until the 
vital principle of grace is implanted in the regenerated 
soul, no man is a Christian; and until the opposing 
principle of indwelling sin is removed from the unsanc- 
tified heart, no Christian is entirely sanctified, or " pure 
in heart." 

3. Men can not grow into holiness from the fact that 
in their nature growth and holiness are distinct things : 
growth is development and improvement ; holiness \s pu- 
rity — freedom from sin. While maturity is the result 
of growth and improvement, purity is the result of 
cleansing, extirpating power. If we would have clear 
views of this subject, it is highly important that we keep 
in view the idea that purity and maturity are distinctly 
two things. Even babes in Christ may become pure 
through the cleansing power of Jesus ; but they can not 
become mature Christians at once. This requires de- 
velopment, experience, and improvement. Dr. Clarke 
does not say, in the quotation we gave, that a gradation 
maturity is not in the Bible, but that a gradation purity 
is not taught there. Purity is one of the greatest helps 
to maturity, and impurity is one of its chief hinderances. 
It is on this account that the pure Christian grows or 
matures faster than the unsanctified. 

The work of maturity may go on indefinitely either 



BY GROWTH IN GRACE. 67 

before or after entire sanctification. Before entire sane* 
tification it is necessarily more slow, unsteady, and diffi- 
cult, and is in some respects and to some extent limited. 
After entire sanctification it becomes rapid, easy, natu- 
ral, and unlimited. Jumbling together purity and ma- 
turity has given rise to many strange notions in regard 
to this subject. 

The nature of sin and of depravity is such as to ex- 
clude the idea of their improvement in any sense what- 
ever. Sin is evil, and only evil, root and branch, bud, 
blossom, and fruit — an abominable and accursed thing, 
which God hates. We must not commit the one, and 
we must get rid of the other. The best we can do with 
inbred sin is by the grace of God to resist it, and keep 
it under until it is extirpated. It can not be pruned, or 
changed, or directed, or corrected to any purpose ; it 
must be slain and expelled from the heart. We may 
improve in habits of virtue, in resisting temptation, in 
obeying God, in treasuring up knowledge, and in over- 
coming and gaining easier victory over sin ; but all this 
neither improves nor exterminates it. 

Dr. George Peck well observes, " The destruction of sin 
in the soul, and the growth of holiness, are two distinct 
things, . . . HYlq oris is instantaneous, t\\Q other gradual ; 
and hence it is that we sometimes say, with propriety, 
that the work of entire sanctification is both gradual 
and instantaneous" 

Growth in grace is essentially the same both before 
and after entire sanctification. The only difference is, 
in the one case the dominion of grace is somewhat 



68 HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED 

limited : and it has a powerful inward foe to contend 
with in addition to those from without. In the other 
case, grace has unlimited dominion in the soul, and its 
growth is not impeded by any thing within the heart. 
It has obstacles to its growth from without the heart, 
and ever will have while on probation ; but all is peace- 
ful, and friendly, and right within. The inward obsta- 
cles to the growth of the unsanctified soul are the fruit 
or workings of inherent sin ; and while these obstacles 
may be overcome by the growing Christian, their cause 
— or the great bosom foe, inbred sin — must be cast 
out. Let me here repeat, growth in grace is not the 
process of separating sin from the soul, either before or 
subsequently to entire sanctification. It is the process 
of development and maturing, but not of purifying. 

4. The commands and promises of God warrant me 
in saying that purity is not to be obtained by growth in 
grace. God desires, commands, and expects instant 
obedience. This can not be done if holiness is secured 
by growth. God says, " Be ye holy ; " " Be ye there- 
fore perfect;" and, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart." Just as surely as God desires 
and commands us noiv to be holy, so surely is the work 
of sin's destruction and heart purification instantaneous. 

There is a serious and irreconcilable discrepancy be- 
tween the teachings of the Scripture and a gradual 
process of purification. Take the following precious 
promise and holy covenant : " The oath which he 
sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto 
us, that we, being delivered [not grown] out of the hand 



BY GROWTH IN GRA^E. 69 

of our enemies, might serve him without lear, in HOLI- 
NESS and RIGHTEOUSNESS before him ALL THE 
DAYS OF OUR LIFE." This passage is in direct 
conflict with the idea of being five, ten, twenty, or 
thirty years in securing purity by a gradual process, 
or by growth. 

One of the greatest and most serious mistakes of 
millions in the church of God, has been in regarding 
growth in grace as being chiefly between regeneration 
and entire sanctification, while it should be principally 
subsequent to complete purity. This mistake I fear 
has ruined millions. Vast multitudes in the church 
seem to suppose, that between regeneration and entire 
sanctification is to be a lifetime of growth in grace. 

Dr. Adam Clarke says, " Every penitent is exhorted 
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that he may receive 
remission of sins : he does not, he can not, understand 
that the blessing thus promised is not to be received to- 
day, but at some future time. In like manner to every 
believer the new heart and the right spirit are offered 
in the present moment, that they may, in that mo- 
ment, be received. For, as the work of cleansing and 
renewing the heart is the work of God, his almighty 
power can perform it in a moment, in the twinkling of 
an eye. And as it is this moment our duty to love 
God with all our heart, and we can not do this till he 
cleanse our hearts, consequently he is ready to do it 
this moment, because he wills that we should this mo- 
ment perfectly love him. . . . This moment, therefore, 
we may be emptied of sin, filled with holiness, and be- 
come truly happy." 



TO HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED 

Mi. Fletcher says, "It is, I think, allowed on all 
sides that ' we are saved,' that is, sanctified, as well as 
justified, 'by faith*' Now, that particular hight of 
sanctification, that full ' circumcision of the heart,* 
which centrally purifies the soul, springs from a peculiar 
degree of saving faith, and from a particular operation 
of the ' spirit of burning; ' a quick operation this, which 
is compared to a baptism of fire, and proves sometimes 
so sharp and searching, that it is as much as a healthy, 
strong man can do to bear up under it." 

Purity is not a question of time ; growth in grace is. 
Believers are delivered from their inbred sin at all 
periods after their conversion — from one day to fifty 
years. I need not prove that many believers are not 
entirely sanctified until a remote period after their 
conversion. This is so generally, so obviously, and so 
shamefully true, as to need no proof. 

Are believers ever entirely sanctified immediately 
after their conversion ? Let Mr. Wesley answer : — 
" Many at Macclesfield believed that the blood of Christ 
had cleansed them from all sin. I spoke to them, forty 
in all, one by one. Some of them said they received 
that blessing ten days, some seven, some four, some three 
days after they found peace with God, and two of them 
t\\Qnext day" He gives us an account of Grace Pad- 
dy, who was " convinced of sin, converted to God, and 
renewed in love, within twelve hours." In vindication 
of these facts, he says, " With God one day is as a 
thousand years ; it plainly follows that the quantity of 
time is nothing with him. Centuries, years, months, 



BY GROWTH IN GRACE. 71 

days hours, and moments are exactly the same ; con- 
sequently he can as well sanctify us in a day after we 
are justified, as a hundred years. There is no differ- 
ence at all, unless we suppose him to be such a one as 
ourselves. Accordingly we see in fact that some of the 
most unquestionable witnesses of sanctifying grace were 
sanctified within a few days after they were justified" 
In harmony with these views of Mr. Wesley, the Scrip- 
ture commands, invitations, and promises, in regard to 
this subject, are all in the present tense. They are as 
strictly, so as those in regard to justification and regen- 
eration. In point of time, their united language is, 
" Behold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is 

THE DAY OF SALVATION." 

Maturity, or growth in grace, is, in an important 
sense, a question of time ; but purity is not. A free 
and full salvation from all sin is the present and con- 
stant privilege and duty of all believers. This will 
secure a rapid, solid, constant growth in grace. Dr. 
Hibbard says, " And it is only when all sin proper is 
cleansed from the heart, when the whole desire centers 
in* God, and the whole consent of the will embraces 
each and every command of God, that the virtues ©f 
Christ or the graces of the Spirit can grow with unim 
peded progress. 5 ' 

5. The Scriptures teach that holiness is secured by 
creating' and cleansing power, and not by growth in 
grace. The Psalmist prays, " Create in me a clean heart, 
God." Paul says, " We are his workmanship, createa 
anew in Christ Jesus." He states that the new man 



72 HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED 

of God " is created in righteousness and true holmes* * 
The Scriptures also teach that holiness is the result c f 
cleansing power, and not of growth or improvement. 
The Old Testament promise is, "T will sprinkle clean 
water upon you, and ye shall be clean ; from all your 
filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you." 

Paul says, " Dearly beloved, having these promises, 
let us cleanse ourselves from all filtliiness of the flesh 
and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 
This passage indicates, in so many words, that to be 
cleansed from sin is to be perfect in holiness. It has 
no allusion to growth at all. " If we confess our sins, 
he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse 
us from all unrighteousness" " And the blood of his 
Son Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin" The idea 
in these and all kindred passages is purity by extirpa- 
tion, not by growth. This extirpation is effected by the 
creating power and cleansing blood of Christ, sought for 
that specific purpose, by consecration, prayer, and faith. 

In harmony with this, Dr. Bangs says, " Those who 
teach "that we are gradually to grow into a state of 
sanctification, without ever experiencing an instantane- 
ous change from inbred sin to inward holiness, — which 
change will show itself by its fruits, — are to be repu- 
diated as unsound, anti-scriptural, and anti-Metho- 
oistic." 

Charles Wesley says, in one of his beautiful hymns, — 

" I wait till he shall touch me clean, 
Shall life and power impart, 
Give me the faith that casts out sin, 
And purifies the heart.'* 



BY GROWTH IN GRACE. 73 

The reader will see the same sentiment taught in the 
following lines from the pen of that holy woman, Mrs. 
Hester Ann Rogers " It is true, we may mortify, re 
sist, and keep under those evils ; but Jesus alone can 
pluck up and destroy every plant and root which hip 
Father planted not. We may gradually grow in grace 
and holiness, and hereby increase in victoriously sub 
jecting the enemy within ; but Jesus alone can slay 
the man of sin" 

The Rev. Daniel Wise says, " One chief reason [why 
many believers are not holy] is, that such seekers too 
often labor to mend their religious characters, instead 
of aiming at the purification of their hearts ; or, to ex- 
press myself differently, they aim at the purification of 
their hearts by improving their characters, by striving 
to subdue particular sins." 

Dr. Foster says, sanctification is " distinct in opposi- 
tion to the idea that it is a mere regeneration ; holding 
it to be something more and additional ; instantaneous, 
in opposition to the idea of growth gradually to ma- 
turity or ripeness ; holding, that though it is maturity 
of 'Christian character, ripeness of the graces, and 
though there is progress toward it, yet that its attain- 
ment is not a mere ripeness ensuing by gradual groivth, 
but is by the direct agency of the Holy Ghost, and 
instantaneously wrought in the soul, however long the 
bouI may have been progressing toward it." 

Mr. Fletcher teaches that growth in grace, or the 
gradual process, is not the condition of entire sanc- 
tification. He says, " God usually gives a considerable 

7 



74 HOLINESS NOT OBTAINED 

time for men to receive light, to grow in grace, to do 
and suffer his will, before they are either justified or 
sanctified" Here Mr. Fletcher teaches that the recep- 
tion of light, growing in grace, and doing and suffering 
God's will, as a gradual process, usually precede both 
justification and sanctification ; but this process no 
more sanctifies the soul than it regenerates it. He 
doubtless used the phrase " grow in grace " in a re- 
stricted sense, as a man can not, properly speaking, 
grow in grace until he is justified. 

6. The uniform experience of all who have obtained 
entire sanctification speaks decisively on the question 
of obtaining it by growth in grace. The testimony of 
all who are clear iii the witness of entire sanctification 
is, that it was sought as a distinct blessing, and was 
obtained by letting go of every thing but Christ, and 
plunging at once into the fountain. We may reasona- 
bly suppose that the great mass of the church are anx- 
ious to grow in grace ; but how fast are they getting 
pure hearts by this growth ? Let the vast multitude 
in the Methodist Episcopal Church who have been try- 
ing to grow in grace during from five to forty years, 
and are still without the witness of the Spirit that their 
hearts are cleansed, answer. Speak out, my brethren ; 
for " ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord." 

Mr. Wesley says, " In London alone I found six hun- 
dred and fifty-two members of our society who were 
exceeding clear in their experience, and of whose tes* 
timony I, could see no reason to doubt. ... And every 
one of these (after the most careful inquiry, I have not 



BY GROWTH IN GRACE. 75 

found one exception, either in Great Britain or Ireland) 
has declared that his deliverance from sin was instan- 
taneous ; that the change ivas wrought in a moment. 
Had half of these, or one third, or one in twenty, de- 
clared it was gradually wrought in them, I should have 
believed this in regard to them, and thought some were 
gradually sanctified and some instantaneously. But, as I 
have not found, in so long a space of time, a single per- 
son speaking thus, — as all, who believe they are sancti- 
fied, declare with one voice that the change was wrought 
in a moment, — I can not but believe that sanctification 
is commonly, if not always, an instantaneous work." 

The fact that some may not be able to know the pre- 
cise time when indwelling sin ^as extirpated argues no 
more for a gradual purity than the same fact in regard 
to justification argues a gradual regeneration. While 
many can not fix upon the precise time when they were 
regenerated, there are but few who have the witness of 
entire sanctification who can not tell the very time when 
the enemy was exterminated. The beautiful analogy 
in the conditions and experience of regeneration and 
entire sanctification, favors the idea of an instantaneous 
sanctification similar to regeneration. 

It may be asked, " Is not entire sanctification a death 
to sin ? and is not dying a gradual process ? " 

If by dying is meant the separation of the soul from 
the body, I answer, No, strictly speaking, it is not. 
The approach to death may be gradual; but a man 
does not die, and is not dead, until his soul leaves the 
body ; and this takes place in a single instant of time. 



7b HOLINESS IS NOT OBTAINED 

It is clear that death is instantaneous, although the ap 
p roach to it is often gradual. So long as the soul 
remains in the body, the whole of it remains ; when 
it leaves, the whole of it leaves. As the soul does 
not leave by parts, all that is essential in life exists as 
long as there is any life at all ; and at the moment of 
death something takes place which did not take place 
before, and which is essentially different from any thing 
in approaching death. Millions die without any grad- 
ual process at all. The soul does not leave the body 
during the gradual approach to death ; and, as there is 
a last moment when the soul possesses the body, so 
there is a first moment when the body is tenantless. 

From the instant that the penitent sinner is justified 
may the gradual work of growth in grace., mortification 
of sin, and increasing light make progress in the soul. 
As in the case of a dying man alluded to, he gradually 
approaches nearer and nearer the hour and moment of 
deliverance from indwelling sin. But his gradual ap- 
proach to that moment is a very different thing from 
the fact of his deliverance. Some men approach very 
near to death by a very gradual or by a very short 
process, and yet do not die, but live many years. So, 
many believers approach very near to the extermination 
of sin, and yet it is not destroyed, and they live on 
with its inbeing for long years afterward. 

It may be objected that the work of grace in the 
heart is illustrated by growth in the vegetable kingdom 
— u first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn 
in tne ear.' This figure teaches and illustrates Chris- 
tian maturity, but does not teach Christian purity, 



BY GROWTH IN GRACE. * 77 

Theie are two classes of commands and figures in the 
Scriptures in regard to Christian character and duty. 
The one class contains commands and figures enjoining 
and illustrating growth in grace, and maturity. The 
other class enjoins and illustrates Christian holiness or 
purity. Hence some Scripture figures teach a growth 
and maturity in grace. This we allow both before and 
after entire sanctification. To argue a gradual purifi- 
cation from a Scripture figure which is designed to 
illustrate and enforce growth in grace and maturity, is 
to draw conclusions not warranted by the premises. 
We repeat, the idea of holiness is that of purity, and 
not of maturity, and the question is not whether we 
can grow in grace before we are made pure in heart, 
but whether this growth exterminates indwelling sin. 

Mr. Wesley says, " Sanctification is both preceded 
and followed by a gradual work." But mark, he does 
not say that that which he calls " indwelling sin," or 
" nature," or the " carnal mind," or " the seed of all 
sin," is gradually taken away. This he represents as 
an instantaneous process. In concluding this answer, 
let me say, the process of cleansing away and extir- 
pating sin is one thing, and a growth or maturity in 
grace is quite another. These two things should not 
be jumbled or confounded. God never accomplishes 
that in the soul by cleansing power which is the prov- 
ince of growth in grace to perform. On the other hand, 
a growth in grace can not effect that which is the work 
of creating, cleansing power. The one is an instanta* 
neons work, and the other a gradual work. 



78 DIRECTIONS FOR THE 

SECTION EIGHTH. 

DIRECTIONS FOE, THE ATTAINMENT OE HOLINESS. 

39. What is the first direction you would give to a 
verson seeking holiness ? 

Endeavor to get a clear and distinct view of the bless- 
ing promised. What is it ? The extermination of sin 
from the soul — simple purity — freedom from sin. It 
consists in the destruction and removal of sin, and the 
renewal of the soul in the image of God ? so that the 
fountain of thought, affection, desire, and impulse is pure. 

40. Wliat is the second direction you would give ? 
Come to a firm and decided resolution to seek until 

you obtain the victory — a pure heart. You must have 
a resolution which will not cower when the knife is put 
to the heart to amputate its idols. Your purpose must 
be settled, decided, unflinching, and unconquerable. 
" The day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." 
None but an invincible resolution will answer. 

41. What is the third direction you ivould give ? 
Endeavor to feel your need of it. If you have but 

little, or no sense of need, you will assuredly make no 
progress. The feeling that is required is represented 
by the sensations of hunger and thirst. Our Saviour 
says, " Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst 
after righteousness." Your efforts in seeking holiness 
will be likely to harmonize with the strength of your 
desires. The necessary feelings of penitence, self abase- 



ATTAINMENT OF HOLINESS. 79 

ment, and of strong desire for holiness, may be secared 
by prayer, searching the Scriptures, meditatim^ and 
$elf -examination. 

42. Wliat is the fourth direction you ivould give ? 

Make an entire consecration of yourself to God — 
your soul, your body, your time, your talents, your in- 
fluence, and your all — a complete assignment of all 
to Christ. Search and surrender, and re-search and sur- 
render again, until you get every vestige of self upon 
the altar of consecration. There is no sanctification 
without entire consecration. Consecration, which is 
your work, (with helping grace,) is not sanctification, 
but it invariably precedes it, and ever afterward ac- 
companies it. Sanctification, which is God's work, in- 
variably follows consecration, and must ever abide with 
it as the sin-consuming and soul-keeping energy. En- 
tire consecration and entire sanctification, our ivork and 
Gods work, must be joined together. 

You must consecrate yourself in detail, and get ev- 
ery item upon the altar. In order to grasp the ivhole, 
you must take irr the items. Take a complete inven- 
tory of your all, and sign it over to Jesus for value 
received. The consecration must be perfect before the 
offering will be received. God will have a thorough 
work, and purity will never be given or retained but 
on condition of entire, universal, unconditional aban- 
donment of all sin, and acceptance and approval of all 
the will of God. 



80 DIRECTIONS FOU THE 

43. Wliat is the only and the proximate condition of 
uanctiftcation ? 

Faith. " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 
shait be saved." Faith is the only condition of sanctifi- 
cation, and God always saves the moment true faith is 
exercised. You ask, " Believe what ? " 

1. Believe that God has promised it in the Holy 
Scriptures. 

2. Believe what God hath promised he is able to per- 
form. 

3. Believe that he is able and willing; to do it now. 

4. Believe that he doth it. 

If you are earnestly seeking holiness, will you exam 
ine yourself thoroughly by the following interrogations ? 

1. Do I properly understand the nature of holiness ? 

2. Do I clearly see, properly feel my inbred sin, and 
consequent need of holiness ? 

3. Am I willing, anxious, and resolved to obtain it ? 

4. Am I willing to give up all to God, — self, family, 
property, reputation, time, talents, every thing, — to be 
his, used for him, and never withheld or taken from him ? 

5. Do I believe he is able to sanctify me ? 



6. Do I believe he is vnlling to sanctify me 



? 



7. Do I believe he has promised to sanctify me ? 

8. Do I believe that having promised, he is able and 
willing to do it now, on condition of my faith ? 

9. Do I then, seeing all this, believe that he now will 
do it — noiv, this moment ? 

10. Am I now committing all, and trusting in the 
present tense ? If you are, it is done ! that God 



ATTAINMENT OF HOLINESS. 81 

may aid your trembling faith, and give you the victory 
this moment ! 

Mr. Wesley says, " The voice of God to your soul is, 
Believe and be saved. Faith is the condition, and the 
only condition, of sanctifieation, exactly as it is injus^ 
tification. No man is sanctified till he believes ; every 
man when he believes is sanctified." 

44. Will you give Mr. Wesley's views of the faith 
that sanctifies ? 

" But what is that faith whereby we are sanctified, 
saved from sin, and perfected in love ? This faith is a 
divine evidence or conviction — 

" 1. That God hath promised this sanctifieation in 
the Holy Scriptures. 

" 2. It is a divine evidence or conviction that what 
God hath promised he is able to perform. 

" 3. It is a divine evidence or conviction that he is 
able and willing to do it now. 

" 4. To this confidence that God is able and willing 
to sanctify us now, there needs to be added one thing 
more — a divine evidence or conviction that he doth it." 

45. What do you mean by a distinct and naked 
faith ? 

By a simple faith is meant, taking God at his word 
without reasoning ; and by %aked faith is meant, faith 
independent of all feeling, aixd stripped of every other 
dependence but Christ alone. The holy Fletcher says, 
a naked faith is " a faith, independent of all feelings, 



&2 DIRECTIONS FOR THE 

in a naked promise ; bringing nothing with you but a 
careless, distracted, tossed, hardened heart — just such 
a heart as you have got now." Lady Maxwell describes 
it thus : " I have often acted faith for sanctification, in 
the absence of all feeling- ; and it has always diffused 
an indescribable sweetness through rny soul." 

Mr. Fletcher illustrates it in the following way : 
" As when you reckon with your creditor or with your 
host, and as, when you have paid all, you reckon your- 
selves free, so now reckon with God. Jesus has paid 
all; and he hath paid for thee — hath purchased thy 
pardon and holiness. Therefore it is now God's com- 
mand, ' Reckon thyself dead unto sin ; ' and thou art 
alive unto God from this hour. 0, begin, begin to 
reckon now ; fear not ; believe, believe, BELIEVE ; 
and continue to believe every moment. So shalt thou 
continue free ; for it is retained, as it is received, by 
faith alone." 

46. Wliat should naked faith for a present blessing 
be based on ? 

Upon the fact — 

1. That provision for its bestowment has been made. 

2. That God has clearly promised it. 

3. That it is consistent with the, will of God that you 
should now receive it. 

4. That you now answer the conditions upon k Inch 
the promise is suspended. 

47. May I come to Christ now, just as I am ? 

Yes, precious soul, this very moment. May the Lord 



ATTAINMENT OF HOLINESS. 83 

-* 

help you. You can make yourself no better. We can 
not save ourselves in part before coining to Christ. 
Tears, groanings, resolutions, and lamentations will 
make us no better, or more worthy. " Now is the day 
of salvation ; " now is the time you should believe. 
It is wrong not to believe. Say, Here, Lord, I will, I 
do believe ; thou hast said now ; noiv let it be. And 
now rest your soul on the all-atoning merit of Jesus. 

"If you tarry till you're bettei, 
You will never come at ail." 

%l All the fitness he requireth 
Is to feel your need of hhn." 

48. Is there a distinction between entire consecration 
and entire sanctificaiion ? 

There is. The work of entire consecration belongs 
to us ; the work of entire sanctification belongs to God. 
Entire consecration is offering our all a complete sacri- 
fice to God ; entire sanctification is entire consecration 
accompanied by the sin-consuming power of the Holy 
Ghost. We may be entirely consecrated, without being 
entirely sanctified. Sanctification includes entire con- 
secration ; but entire consecration does not necessarily 
include entire sanctification ; it precedes and accompa- 
nies it. 

49. What is the difference between the consecration 
previous to conversion and that previous to entire sanc- 
tification ? 

They are essentially the same, both involving com- 
plete submission to God up to the present light of the 



84 DIRECTIONS FOR THE 

soul; \>-*t, while in principle they are the same, that 
which precedes entire sanctification is made with a fuller 
and deeper sense of the import of perfect submission to 
God. The penitent, seeking pardon, consecrates him- 
self to the full extent of his discovery of truth and 
duty. The believer^ seeking purity, renews this conse- 
cration, in view of the revelations which increasing 
light, time, and the word of God have made of his 
moral deficiency. 

50. Is any certain standard of conviction or feeling 
given in the Bible as necessary in seeking holiness ? 

The Bible presents no particular standard of feeling 
to which all must come. It presents a clear standard 
of action and of purity, but not of feeling. Our tem- 
peraments will have much to do with our feelings ; 
hence the folly of measuring ourselves by others in 
regard to feeling. It is not necessary that all should 
have the same conviction, or the same amount of feel- 
ing, in order to seek either justification or sanctification. 
All must be brought, not to the same degree of emo- 
tion, but to entire submission to God, to the terms of 
salvation, and the consequences that may follow. We 
should never place too much dependence upon the 
mere matter of feeling. All the feelings which God 
requires are such as naturally and necessarily exist in 
connection with constant and entire consecration of 
every power and energy to the service of God. Those 
mistake exceedingly who make direct efforts to produce 
feelings or emotions otherwise than those which nat- 



ATTAINMENT OF HOLINESS. 85 

arally arise in the faithful discharge of duty. As to 
convictions, I suppose that to believe in the doctrine of 
sanctification, and at the same time to know that you 
have not experienced it, and need it, is all that is 
necessary. Certainly this is all that is necessary to 
commence seeking it ; then, if deeper convictions are 
necessary, they will be given in the improvement of 
present convictions. The object of conviction is to 
lead to action. u Knowledge is conviction ; " and a 
clear perception of duty is all that a rational being 
should ask. 

51. Do not deep convictions for holiness sometimes ob- 
scure, for the time being, the light of present justification? 

Doubtless this is often the case. It commonly hap- 
pens that a Christian who begins earnestly to seek full 
salvation soon comes to the conclusion that he really 
has much less grace than he thought he had. Some- 
times the soul seeking holiness will cast his confidence 
away altogether, and conclude he was deceived, and 
had never been born again. This is an error, and 
should.be carefully guarded against. It is often the 
case that such find so much sin remaining in them, and 
the corruptions of their hearts are so chaffed and appar- 
int by being restrained and opposed, that they do not 
perceive the evidence of the grace they have received. 

52. Are the convictions of a believer seeking holi- 
ness the same as those of a sinner seeking pardon ? 

They are materially different from those felt by the 

8 



86 DIRECTIONS FOR THE 

unpardoned sinner. They are convictions of inward 
depravity, and not of guilt. They produce pain, but 
not condemnation. Bishop Hedding says, " Though 
the Christian does not feel guilty for this depravity, as 
he would do if he had voluntarily broken the law of 
God, yet he is often grieved, and afflicted, and reproved 
at a sight of this sinfulness of his nature." Mr. Wesley 
says, " The repentance consequent upon justification 
is widely different from that which is antecedent to it. 
This implies no guilt, no sense of condemnation, no 
consciousness of the wrath of God. It does not sup- 
pose any doubt of the favor of God, or any ' fear that 
hath torment.' It is properly a conviction, wrought by 
the Holy Ghost, of the sin which still remains in our 
heart ; of the carnal mind, which ' does still remain (as 
our church speaks) even in them that are regenerate,' 
although it does no longer reign ; it has not now do- 
minion over them." 

53. What are the usual exercises of the mind of a 

believer in seeking holiness ? 

They are directly the reverse of what many suppose. 
The process is a humbling, sifting, searching, crucifying 
one. When the believer begins to pray for holiness, 
instead, of receiving at once a stream of bright, sweet, 
heavenly fire and glory, the soul begins to see more 
and more of its own vileness, deformity, and inward 
corruption. God makes to the soul a more clear and 
painful discovery of remaining impurity. The soul has 
no more sin now than it had before, but is becoming 



ATTAINMENT OF PERFECT LOVE. 87 

more thoroughly acquainted with itself. It has now a 
more clear view of the tendency in itself to evil, and of 
the fact that it is shut up to the grace of God for help* 
Hence it is that, when a believer begins to pray for 
purity, he appears to himself to grow worse and worse. 
Repenting believer, hold on ; pray and believe through. 
This may be a necessary process. " Blessed are they 
that mourn, for they shall be comforted." " Blessed 
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of 
heaven." 

54. 75 it important that prayer should be definite and 
discriminating in seeking holiness ? 

All indefiniteness is evidently in the way of seeking 
purity. We seldom get special blessings by indefinite 
prayers. Let the blessing desired be matter of distinct 
and intense thought, and, separated from every thing 
else, let it be asked for. 

We have ample authority in divine revelation for 
definiteness in prayer. David, who longed for in- 
ward purity, prayed, " Create in me a clean heart, 
God, and renew a right spirit within me." The 
Saviour prayed, " Sanctify them through thy truth." 
The apostle prays, " The very God of peace sanc- 
tify you wholly," &c. These are specific prayers for 
the blessing of entire sanctification. Why should you 
not ask for the very blessing you need and desire ? 
Why pray at random ? When you want one thing 
of your fellow-men, you do not ask for another, nor 
for every thing. The very thing asked for is what 



88 PERFECT LOVE. 

you may expect to obtain. " If ye, then, being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children, how 
much more shall your Father which is in heaven give 
good things to them that ask him ! " 

Dr. George Peck says, " We must fix our attention 
upon tfds one object. This must be every thing to us. 
For the time, the hell we would be delivered from must 
be the hell of inbred sin ; and the heaven we would 
obtain, the heaven of loving God alone." 

55. Should a clear evidence of justification precede 
the seeking of entire sanctification ? 

This should usually be the case ; but there may be 
some exceptions, as in those persons who have lost their 
justification by refusing to seek holiness. We think 
such persons, in some instances, may regain the light 
of justification 7 ln connection with their entire sanctifi- 
cation. But God's usual order is, first the light of jus 
tification, and then the work of entire sanctification. 

Many, we fear, who commence seeking entire sanc- 
tification in a backslidden state, on being blessed, 
conclude they are in the possession of perfect love, 
when, in fact, they are only reclaimed from a backslid- 
den state. Such often bring reproach upon the cause 
of holiness. It is very desirable to start out in the clear 
light of regeneration and justification to seek for the 
Canaan of perfect love. 



EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOVE. S9 

SECTION NINTH. 

THE EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOVE. 

56. Did Mr. Wesley teach that we may have he 
same evidence that we are sanctified that we have of 
justification ? 

To the question, " But how do you know that you 
are sanctified, saved from your inbred corruption ? " 
Mr. Wesley replies, " I can know it no otherwise than 
I know that I am justified. ' Hereby know we that we 
are of God,' in either sense, ' by the Spirit that he hath 
given us.' We know it by the witness and by the fruit 
of the Spirit." 

57. Ovght any one to believe that he is sanctified 
wholly before he has the witness of the Spirit ? 

Mr. Wesley says, " None, therefore, ought to believe 
that the work is done till there is added the testimony 
of the Spirit witnessing his entire sanctification as 
clearly as his justification ." 

This position of Mr. Wesley is safe, and applicable 
as a general rule ; and yet, perhaps, there may be some 
exceptions to it, as in those cases where God may be 
pleased to hold the soul for a season, after the work 
is done, to a naked faith in his word, before the Spirit's 
witness is given. If I do not mistake, this has been 
the experience of some of the clearest witnesses of 

8* 



90 EVIDENCES OP PERFECT LOVE. 

perfect love. Perhaps the same may be true in some 
cases of justification. 

58. What is the witness of the Spirit? 

It is a sweet inward persuasion of the Spirit that God, 
for Christ's sake, has either pardoned my sins and re 
generated my soul, or that the blood of Jesus Christ 
has cleansed it from all sin. 

Mr. Wesley gives the following answer : " By the 
testimony of the Spirit I mean an inward impression on 
the soul, whereby the Spirit of God immediately and 
directly witnesses to my spirit that I am a child of God; 
that Jesus Christ hath loved me and given himself for 
me ; that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am 
reconciled to God, or cleansed from all sin, and fully 
renewed in the image of God." 

59. Is the witness of the Spirit to regeneration and 
to entire sanctification different ? 

They differ only in the facts to which the Spirit 
gives his testimony in the two cases. In the one case, 
it is a delightful and decisive persuasion that God has 
pardoned our sins and converted our souls. In the 
other, it is a delightful and decisive persuasion that 
the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. 

Dr. Foster says, " The difference of the Spirit's wit- 
ness in the work of justification and entire sanctification 
is not in the manner so much as the thing which is 
witnessed to. It is given in much the same way ; it is 
the same Spirit ; the phenomena are much the same, 
but the testimony itself differs." 



EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOVE. 91 

<>0. Is the evidence of sanctifieation, or the ivitness 
vf the Spirit, always clear at first? 

" Indeed, the witness of sanctifieation is net always 
clear at first, (as neither is that of justification ,) 
neither is it afterward always the same, but, like that 
of justification, sometimes stronger an sometimes 
fainter. Yea, and sometimes it is withdrawn. Yet, 
in general, the latter testimony of the Spirit is both as 
clear and as steady as the former." — Wesley. 

61m Is it our privilege to possess the witness of the 
Spirit without any intermission ? * 

" Some have the testimony both of their justification 
and sanctifieation, without any intermission at all, 
which, I presume, more might have, did they walk 
humbly and closely with God." — Wesley. 

62. Is true evangelical faith usually accompanied 
with the witness of the Spirit ? 

It is. "When real faith is exercised, and the work 
of entire sanctifieation fully wrought, the witness of 
the Spirit may be expected, and it is usually appre- 
hended then with greater or less distinctness. Although 
the witness of the Spirit is usually given in connection 
with saving faith, yet it may not always be distinctly 
apprehended as such at the time. It may please the 
Lord to withhold it temporarily sometimes, in order to 
teach important lessons, and discipline and test the 
feiih of the believer. St. John says, " He that be* 



92 EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOVE. 

lieveth on the Son of God hath the witness in hiii* 
self." 

63. Can the witness of the Spirit be retained while 

ANY SIN is COMMITTED Of ALLOWED ? 

Mr. Wesley says, " It is inevitably destroyed, not only 
by the commission of any outward sin, or the omission 
of any known duty, but by giving way to any inward 
sin; in a word, by whatever grieves the Holy Spirit of 
God." 

64. Are there certain fruits which necessarily flow 
from a pure heart as evidence of holiness ? 

" There are certain fruits which flow from sanctifica- 
tion, which must exist where the work itself exists, 
to assert it, and certain other and counter fruits, which 
must necessarily exist where it does not, to declare its 
absence. Now^ these fruits, if carefully considered, 
must constitute a most important branch of evidence 
in the case." — Foster. 

65. By what fruit of the Spirit may we know that 
our hearts are cleansed from all sin? 

" By love, joy, peace, always abiding ; by invariable 
long-suffering, patience, resignation ; by gentleness, tri- 
umphing over all provocation ; by goodness, mildness, 
sweetness, tenderness of spirit ; by fidelity, simplicity, 
godly sincerity; by meekness, calmness, and evenness 
of spirit." — Wesley. 

Dr. Macknight says the fruit of the Spirit is " love 
to God and man ; joy occasioned by that excellent 



EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOYE. v 93 

affection; pgace with all men ; the patient beaiing of 
injuries; a soft, sweet manner of speaking; a benef- 
icent disposition ; fidelity to engagements, promises, 
and trusts ; calmness under provocation ; temperance 
in the use of meats and drinks." 

66. Wliat are the bitter fruits of inbred sin, and how 
does it manifest itself in the heart ? 

The fruits of inbred sin are pride, anger, self-will, 
jealousy, covetousness, peevishness, impatience, hatred, 
variance, emulations, strife, envyings, unbelief, and such 
like. These do not reign in the justified believer, but 
keep up more or less of a warfare within the soul ; 
" the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit 
against the flesh ; and these are contrary the one to the 
other." Inbred sin manifests itself to the consciousness 
of the partially sanctified by clinging to the appetites 
and tendencies of the soul, and seeking and struggling 
for unlawful indulgence. Hence the risings of anger, 
pride, self-will, &c. It shows its being in the thoughts, 
in the feelings, and in the cravings and appetites of the 
unsanctified soul. 

67. Is the emotional experience in the moment of 
sanciifcation various ? 

There is doubtless as great a variety as in justifica- 
tion and regeneration. Some are exercised in one way, 
some in another ; some have one class of emotions, and 
some another. Sometimes there is an unusual illumi- 
nation of soul realized. Sometimes there is a siveei 



94 EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOYE. 

esting and sinking into Christ. Sometimes there is 
great joy and ecstasy, though this, I think, is not the 
general experience. Sometimes the soul realizes ah 
astonishing increase of faith, and an indescribable as- 
surance that all sin is gone. Sometimes there is an 
overwhelming sense of the divine presence. Some- 
times the cleansing energy comes in a mighty torrent, 
and sometimes it comes in a gentle breeze. Glory to 
God ! although there is a diversity of operation both 
with respect to the divine and human spirit, yet the 
blessed results are the same. Reader, never mark out 
a way for God, but seek the cleansing power of the 
Holy Ghost, until it comes just as he is pleased to 
send it. 

Let the prayer of your heart be, — 

" Come as thou wilt — I that resign — 
But 0, my Jesus, come." 

Sanctified souls are often inclined to name the bless- 
ing after their principal sensations, harmonizing with 
their emotional experience. One person realizes prin- 
cipally a marked increase of faith, and he calls it " the 
life of faith" Another is conscious of a deep, sweet 
resting in Christ, and he calls it " resting in God." 
Another is permeated with a sense of the divine pres- 
ence, and filled with ecstatic raptures, and calls it " the 
fullness of God" Another feels his heart subdued, 
melted, refined, and filled with God, and calls it " holi- 
ness" Another realizes principally a river of sweet, 
holy love flowing through the soul, and he calls it 
"perfect love." Another is prostrated under the 



EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOVE. 95 

power of the refining and sin-killing Spirit, and calls 
it " the baptism of the Holy Ghost." And another 
realizes principally a heaven of sweetness in com- 
plete submission to God, and he calls it " entire sane- 
tif cation." While another may feel clearly and strongly 
conscious of complete conformity to all the will of God, 
and calls it "Christian perfection." If genuine, the 
work wrought in each case is essentially the same. 

68. Will Christian perfection make all persons act 
just alike, and appear to equal advantage ? 

Christian holiness will remove all sin, but it is no 
part of its office to destroy personal distinctions or in- 
nocent peculiarities. It will give a good, sincere, pure 
heart ; and, other circumstances being equal, it will in- 
variably impart, in all respects, real and manifest supe 
riority. In the essentials of Christian character it will 
make any man superior to what he himself was with- 
out it. 

69. Will a state of entire sanctification clearly evi- 
dence itself by the absence of all sin ? 

It will ; and any sin, whether of the motive, of the 
will, of the desires, or of the life, negatives its exist- 
ence. Men may know as surely that they are in a 
sanctified state as that they are in an unsanctified state, 
and may know it in the same tuay — by consciousness 
and by the testimony of God. ' Those who are pure in 
heart, and filled with the Holy Spirit, obey God de- 
cidedly, constantly, unhesitatingly, unreservedly, cheer 



96 EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOVE. 

fully, and easily: to such the will of God is supreme 
— the end of all controversy. The question of obe« 
dience is never raised, but is settled — settled on evety 
point, and settled forever. It needs only to be under- 
stood to be obeyed. 

70. Will entire sanctification enable me to pray, be- 
lieve, and rejoice every moment, even in the presence 
of the greatest trials ? 

It will, doubtless, so far as it is naturally, or perhaps 
I should say physically, possible. While the soul may 
have seasons of heaviness, sore conflicts, and protracted 
trials, which are often very necessary, it may still pos- 
sess a heaven of peace, and love, and light in its ocean 
depths. This enables the sanctified soul to pray, and 
believe, -and rejoice, every moment, or to u rejoice ever- 
more, pray without ceasing, and in every thing give 
thanks. 7 ' 

71. Are deep grief and sorrow of soul incompatible 
with perfect love ? 

They are not ; and although grace in the depths of a 
sanctified heart secures an abiding peace, light, and 
love, yet it does not exempt us from occasions of grief 
and sore trial. It affords grace to endure all things, 
even joyfully, through the presence of God. The sanc- 
tified soul is never without comfort. It has in the 
fullest sense the " Comforter." 

Mr. Wesley says, " Nay, the mind itself may. be 
deeply distressed, may be exceeding sorrowful, may be 



EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOVE. 97 

perplexed, and pressed down by heaviness and anguish, 
even to agony, while the heart cleaves to God by perfeo* 
tove, and the will is wholly resigned to him. Was it 
not so with the Son of God himself?" Mrs. Hester 
Ann Rogers says, " Satan suggested I ought not to have 
felt any grief; but the Lord teaches me I may feel 
grief very sensibly and keenly, consistent with pure 
love and entire resignation" 

We must let the idea of holiness stand alone in our 
minds — separate entirely from all accidents of joy or 
sorrow, or indeed any other state of the emotions. If 
the soul is now consciously disentangled from every 
sinful affinity, and in a state of present, felt concur- 
rence with the will of God, that is holiness — that is 
full salvation. 

72. Have ice not reason to fear that some who have 
experienced the blessing of perfect love have given it 
up in the hour of sorrow ? 

This has, doubtless, been the case with some, who 
have supposed if they were freed from sin they would 
have no more sorrow. Although perfect love will se- 
cure just the right kind, and just the right amount, of 
ioy, yet it is by faith that we are to live, and not 
by feeling. 

Lady Maxwell says, " The Lord has taught me that 
it is by faith, and not by joy, that I must live;" and yet 
at times she says, " My evidence for sanctification is as 
strong as a cable fixed to an immovable rock, and as 
clear as the sun shining at noonday." 

9 



98 EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOVE. 

73. What is the character of the evidence of a state 
of entire sanctification? 

It is just as strong, positive, and reliable as can be 
given to substantiate any fact. Indeed it is the verj 
strongest of all evidence. 

1. The testimony of consciousness. This testimony 
we can no more doubt than we can doubt our exist- 
ence. No testimony is more certain than this. By it 
we know we live, or breathe, or love, or hate, or sit, or 
stand, or walk, or that we are joyful or sorrowful, 
happy or wretched. The sanctified soul may be as 
clearly and fully conscious of purity as the unsanctified 
are of impurity. While on the one hand pride, anger, 
unbelief, love of the world, are matters of positive con- 
sciousness, on the other hand love, peace, humility, 
patience, faith, are equally so. Indeed, conscience 
usually speaks more loud and clear in the latter case 
than in the former, because it has received more gra- 
cious energy. Sin paralyzes, grace quickens. 

2. The testimony of God — " The witness of the 
Spirit." This testimony is divine, direct, and positive. 
The Holy Ghost is the witnessing- Spirit. 

1. He speaks first to the sinner's heart. Every con- 
ficted sinner has the witness of the Spirit, testifying 
What he is guilty, condemned, and exposed to the dis- 
pleasure of God. 

2. He speaks to every justified soul. Every truly re- 
generated soul has, or may have, the witness of the 
Spirit, testifying that he is born of God, and in a state 
of justification. 



EVIDENCES OF PERFECT LOVE. 99 

3. He speaks to every sanctified soul. Every truly 
sanctified soul has, or may have, the witness of the 
Spirit, testifying that the blood of Jesus Christ hath 
cleansed him from all sin. 

Now, while we maintain that all this testimony is 
given by the infallible Spirit, yet we claim that' the 
latter testimony is given under more favorable circum- 
stances, and, consequently, is quite as clear and strong, 
if not more so, than either of the others. 

We will sum up this testimony as follows : — 

1. The convicted penitent sinner may know by the 
testimony of his spirit, and the witness of the Holy 
Spirit, that he is guilty and unsaved. This testimony 
is more strong and clear than in the impenitent. 

2. The justified soul may know, and be equally cer- 
tain, by the testimony of his spirit and the witness of 
the Holy Spirit, that God has regenerated his nature, 
and pardoned his sins. This testimony is more strong 
and clear than that of the convicted sinner. 

3. The sanctified soul may know with equal certainty 
by his spirit, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit, that 
God has cleansed his heart from all sin. This testi- 
mony is still more clear and strong than that of the 
merely regenerated. 

The inferential and corroborating evidences aro 
equally as -strong for the fully sanctified as in either 
of the other cases. 



100 THE PROFESSION 

SECTION TENTH. 

THE PROFESSION OP PERFECT LOVE. * 

74. Do the Scriptures authorize a profession of Ho- 
liness ? 

Let the following passages answer. David says, 
" Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will de- 
clare what he hath done for my soul." Jesus said to 
one whom he had healed, " Go home to thy friends, and 
tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, 
and had compassion on thee. And he departed, and 
began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus 
had done for him. And all men did marvel." Paul 
says, " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord 
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath 
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For 
with the heart man believeth unto righteousness [holi- 
ness], and with the mouth confession is made unto 
salvation." In his Letter to Timothy, a young minister 
of the gospel, he says that he, Timothy, " professed a 
good profession before many witnesses." Paul says, 
women should adorn themselves in modest apparel, and 
not with gold or pearls, &c. ; "but (which becometh 
women professing godliness^) with good works." The 
apostle exhorts the Hebrew brethren after this manner : 
" Let us hold fast our profession" 

The Saviour says, " Ye are the light of the world." 
It can not be said that the words of our mouth have no 
part in the illumination of the world. David says, 



OF PERFECT LOVE. 101 

" All thy works shall praise thee, Lord ; and thy 
saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory 
of thy kingdom , and talk of thy power, to make 
known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glo- 
rious majesty of his kingdom." 

75. Does the church in general recognize a profes- 
sion of religion as a duty of believers ?. 

It does. A profession of religion is the acknowledged 
diity of all true Christians. It is recognized in all 
branches of the Protestant church. Believing with the 
heart, and confessing with the mouth, stand closely con- 
nected ; and " what God hath joined together " no man 
has a right to put asunder. The mouth must and will 
speak, when the heart believeth unto righteousness ; 
for " of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak- 
eth" The belief and experience of the heart, and the 
confession of the mouth must ' go together. The pos- 
session of perfect love, and a desire for its diffusion, are 
inseparable, and this desire prompts to a profession. 

76. Does not so rich a grace deserve a humble, faith- 
ful, and grateful acknowledgment ? 

If any man is under obligations of confession and 
profession, it is the sanctified soul. If any man lias a 
right to relate his experience, it is the man who has 
been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. And if the re- 
hearsal of any religious experience is useful to the 
church, and pleasing to God, it must be that which is 
clear and strong, deep, and thoroughly evangelical. 

9* 



102 THE PROFESSION 

When the soul is baptized with the Holy Ghost, and sin 
is utterly destroyed, and love, pure, perfect love, fills the 
whole heart, there are the most solemn obligations of 
faithful testimony for God. Rev. William Bramwell 
wrote to a friend, " Live in purity of heart. Be saved 
from all sin, and declare this at every proper season." 

77. Does not the Bible proclaim Christians to be 
God's witnesses ? 

It does. " Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord." A 
witness is to testify to what he knows. God's witnesses 
are to testify to what they know — to their experience. 
The testimony and knowledge which the world needs is 
concerning the kingdom of God; which is, " righteous- 
ness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." We are to 
profess the truth just as far as we understand it. He 
who mentions the work of Christ must tell just what 
he has done. This is allowable by all in regard to jus- 
tification and regeneration ; why not in regard to sanc- 
tification ? Why not declare all that God has done for 
us, just so far as there is clear evidence of its accom- 
plishment, as well as a part ? Is it not the will of God 
that his witnesses should bear full testimony to his sav- 
ing power ? Must they withhold the clearest and best 
part of their testimony ? Moses did not so understand 
our duty. He did not think that we ought to keep our 
religion to ourselves, and not profess it. He says, 
alluding to the law, the works, and the goodness of 
God, " Thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in 
thine house, and when thou walVest by the way, and 



OF PERFECT LOYE. 10<5 

when thou Rest down, and when thou risest up." The 
church of God needs to-day, and ought to have, a mil- 
lion living ivitnesses for a present and full salvation. 

The' pastoral address of the General Conference of 
1832 presents the following upon the subject of holi; 
ness : — 

u When we speak of holiness, we mean that state in 
which God is' loved with all the heart, and served with 
all the power. This, as Methodists, we have said, is the 
privilege of the Christian in this life ; and we have 
further said that this privilege may be secured instan- 
taneously by an act of faith, as justification was. 

" Why then have we so few living witnesses that ' the 
blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin ' ? Among 
'primitive Methodists, the experience of this high at- 
tainment in religion may justly be said to have been 
common ; noiv a profession of it is rarefy to be met with 
among us. 

" Is it not time for us, in this matter at least, to re~ 
turn to first principles ? Is it not time that we throw 
off the reproach of inconsistency with which we are 
charged in regard to this matter ? Only let all who 
have been born of the Spirit, and have tasted of the 
good word of God, seek with the same ardor to be made 
perfect in love as they sought for the pardon of their 
tins, and soon will our class meetings and love feasts be 
cheered by the relation of experiences of this high 
character, as they now are with those which tell of justi- 
fication and the new birth. And when this shall come 
\r be the case, we may expect a corresponding increase 



104 THE PROFESSION 

in the amount of our Christian enjoyments, and in the 
force of the religious influence we shall exert over 
others." 

Reader, here you find the true ring of primitive Meth- 
odism — plain, straightforward, simple Methodism, just 
as it should be, and not as the prejudices and customs 
of the people would like to have it. 

We do not design to take extreme ground in regard 
to the profession of perfect love, but to present truth 
and duty concerning it, as we understand them. We 
most firmly believe that an honest, humble, full confes- 
sion of perfect love is scriptural, Wesleyan, and honora- 
ble to God, and as such it should have our attention 
and its appropriate place. 

78. Can the blessing of entire sanctification be re- 
tained without professing it on all suitable occasions ? 

1. Rev. William Bramwell gives his opinion on this 
question as follows : " I think such a blessing can not be 
retained without professing it at every fit opportunity; 
for thus we glorify God, and with the mouth make con- 
fession unto salvation." 

2. Mrs. Phoebe Palmer says, " Now, though I well 
know that this blessing is the gift of God, through our 
Lord Jesus Christ, yet I fully believe if I had not yield- 
ed to my convictions relative to confession^ I could not 
have retained it." 

3. Rev. Asa Kent, late of the Providence Conference, 
Bays, "I have reason to believe, fifty-six years ago this 
month, the 1 ord took full possession of my heart, and 



OF PERFECT LOVE. 105 

filled me with pure love" He further adds, " It seemed 
too much for such a worm to confess, and I waited to 
see if the blessing- remained ; in this way I lost the wit- 
ness." Then he says, " For seven years I had severe 
temptations and conflicts with the powers of darkness. 
After this seven years of wilderness life, the Lord re- 
newed the assurance of his love in my heart, far beyond 
all I had ever known before." 

4. The saintly Fletcher lost this blessing four or five 
times by not professing it. He withheld his testimony, 
concealed the light, and lost the blessing. Take the 
following from him, and beware : " My dear brethren 
and sisters, God is here ; I feel him in this place ; but 
I would hide my face in the dust, because I have been 
ashamed to declare what he hath done for me. For 
many years I have grieved his Spirit ; but I am deeply 
humbled, and he has again restored my soul. Last 
Wednesday evening he spoke to me by these words : 
\ Reckon yourselves therefore to be dead indeed unto 
sin, but alive unto God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.' 
I obeyed the voice of God ; I now obey it ; and I tell 
you all, to the praise of his love, / am free from sin. 
Yes, I rejoice to declare it, and to bear witness to the 
glory of his grace, that I am dead unto sin and alive 
unto God, through Jesus Christ, who is my Lord and 
King. I received this blessing- four or five times before, 
but, I lost it by not observing the order of God, who has 
told us, l With the heart man believeth unto righteous- 
ness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salva- 
tion.' But the enemy offered his bait under various 



106 HOLINESS MUST 

colors to keep me from a public declaration of what 
my Lord had wrought. 

" When I first received this grace, Satan bid me watt 
a while, till I saw more of the fruits. I resolved to do 
so ; but I soon began to doubt of the witness which 
before I had felt in my heart, and was in a little time 
sensible I had lost both. 

" A second time, after receiving this salvation, (with 
shame I confess it,) I was kept from being a witness 
for my Lord, by the suggestion, ' Thou art a public 
character ; the eyes of all are upon thee ; and if, as 
before, by any means thou lose the blessing, it will be 
a dishonor to heart holiness,' &c. I held my peace, 
and again forfeited the gift of God. 

" At another time I was prevailed upon to hide it by 
reasoning, How few even of the children of god will 
receive this testimony ! many of them supposing every 
transgression of the Adamic law is sin ; and therefore, 
if I profess myself to be free from sin, all these will 
give my profession the lie ; because I am not free in 
their sense ; I am not free from ignorance, mistakes,' 
and various infirmities. I will therefore enjoy what God 
hath wrought in me, but I will not say I am perfect in 
love. Alas ! I soon found again, ' He that hideth his 
Lord's talent, and improveth it not, from that unprof- 
itable servant shall be taken away even what he hath.' 

"Now, my brethren, you see my folly; I have con- 
fessed it in your presence; and now I resolve before 
you all to confess my Master ; / will confess him to all 
the world; and I will declare unto you, in the presence 



BE PROFESSED. 107 

of the holy Trinity, I am now ' dead indeed unto sin.' " 
We have no cause to believe that Mr. Fletcher ever lost 
the blessing after this decided public profession. 

It was at that time that the holy Fletcher said to Mrs. 
Hester Ann Rogers, " Will you, my sister, be one who 
shall spread the sacred flame ? Come, my friend, I will 
covenant with you; we will join to magnify the Lord, 
and bear our testimony before men and angels. Will 
you ? " Mrs. Rogers replied with flowing tears, " In 
the strength of Jesus I will" And she did, in public 
and in private, until her soul took its departure for 
heaven. 

5. When Lady Maxwell was first sanctified she put 
off a public profession ; as a result she lost her evidence 
of purity, and became perplexed with doubts for a sea- 
son. She was led to see that her doubts were occa- 
sioned by her not humbly declaring what God had done 
for her soul, and she ever after stood as a faithful wit- 
ness of full salvation. Her biographer says, "• She was 
constrained to bear her steady, decided, consistent tes- 
timony, that the bitter root of sin was destroyed." 

6. Rev. B. W. Gorham says, " I have found that if I 
would remain clear in my witness of perfect love, I 
must be specific in my testimony ; in the sober use of 
Scripture terms I must testify explicitly of what the 
Lord has done for me. I have often found it peculiar- 
ly crucifying to bear this testimony, and yet I have 
found it profitable in a high degree. It honors Christ, 
it encourages others to seek the blessing, and when 
properly borne, it mortifies and humbles the soul, and 



108 HOLINESS MUST 

induces such a clinging to Christ as perhaps can be 
realized in no other way." 

79. Wliat good will be secured by professing' the 
blessing of holiness ? 

1. A suitable testimony will obey and please God. 
" Ye are my vritnesses, saith the Lord." 

2. It will be a benefit to the professor. This is not 
questioned in regard to -regeneration ; why should it be 
in regard to entire sanctification ? . Bishop Hamline 
says, the confession of holiness " promotes humility," 
" aids self-consecration," and " strengthens faith it- 
self." James Oaughey says, " The more frequently I 
spoke of this great blessing, confessing it, and urging 
others to press after it, the clearer my evidence be- 
came." Lady Maxwell says, " I am enabled to bear a 
more public and decided testimony for Christian per- 
fection by my lips and pen. that I may do it by my 
life ! I seem, as it were, set for the defense and pro- 
motion of this important branch of doctrine and expe- 
rience, and I find that the Lord owns me in it, at least 
so far as it respects my own soul." 

3. It will benefit others. " Many shall see it, and 
fear, and trust in the Lord." It will lead to the awak- 
ening of sinners, and the sanctification of believers. It 
will rouse the souls of the church, and inspire the 
desponding with the hope of victory. Dr. Jesse T. 
Peck says, " This testimony, humbly and truthfully 
given, will move the hearts of others as nothing else 
can. We have seen even multitudes swayed and dis- 



BE PROFESSED. 109 

solvM ind sinners awakened under its influence, as if 
the bretth of God were in it." 

80. Will not the spirit, conversation, and example 
exhibit what grace has done for us, so as to exclude a 
necessity for a profession ? 

These are important and indispensable, but are not 
the whole of our duty. If the sanctified soul can be 
excused on this ground from professing holiness, -then 
the converted sinner can be excused on the same 
ground with equal propriety from any profession, and 
we should have no professors at all. If this were the 
whole of our duty, some would be regarded as- sancti- 
fied, whose hearts have never been purified, and who 
are conscious of inbred sin. The life, if well ordered, 
may testify to the purity of your morals. It may prove 
you honest, industrious, and neighborly ; but all these 
may exist without either justification or sanctification. 
Multitudes but partially sanctified desire to know if 
any have experienced deliverance from inbred sin, and 
would be encouraged to seek the blessing, by clear tes- 
timony, given in the spirit of holiness. Any argument 
against the profession of entire sanctification would be 
equally conclusive against a profession of justification. 

81. Should holiness be professed before a promiscu- 
ous audience ? 

No state of religion sets aside a sound discretion. 
There should be prudence and judgment exercised in 
this as in all other Christian duties. We claim for the 

10 



110 THE PROFESSION 

professioi of the blessing of " perfect love " the same 
prudence and judgment that we would for the blessing 
of justification, as to time, place, &c. Christ bade his 
disciples " cast not their pearls before swine," inti- 
mating a proper discrimination with respect to cir- 
cumstances and hearers. There may be seasons and 
occasions when it will be wise and useful to give testi- 
mony before all classes. But this profession, the same 
as that of justification, should usually be made among 
the pious, and in social meetings. 

82. What terms are best and safest in professing' 
holiness ? 

We are always more safe in keeping close to the 
Bible. "We may reasonably infer that the Holy Ghost 
has chosen the best terms to express any work of grace 
wrought in the soul. Bible terms are less likely to 
mislead people than those of our own selection. 
While we do not think there is any authority for 
shutting a man up to any particular form of expres- 
sion, yet we have no right to ignore the inspired terms 
significant of this blessing. The word " perfection" 
and its relatives, occur one hundred and one times in 
the Scriptures. In over fifty of these instances it is pred- 
icated of human character under the operation of grace. 
The word " sanctify" and its derivatives, occur, in 
reference to men and things, in the sense of setting 
them apart for some special service, over one hundred 
times. The word " holy" and its derivatives, occur 
no less than one hundred and twenty times in their 



OF HOLINESS. Ill 

application to men and things. The word "justify" 
and its derivatives, occur seventy-four times in their 
application to men. The word "pardon" and its 
derivatives, in their application to penitent sinners, 
occur only seventeen times. In the light of these 
facts, I can see no good reason why professors should 
run all around the inspired words, in speaking of 
Christian experience, and talk respecting " more re- 
ligion," " a deeper work of grace," and of " making 
advances in the divine life." These phrases are well 
enough in their place, but should not take the place 
of the deeply significant words of inspiration. Christ 
says, " Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my 
words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when 
he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, 
and of the holy angels." " And a highway shall be 
there, and a way, and it shall be called, The way of 
HOLINESS ; the unclean shall not pass over it." 

Let me conclude this answer in the language of 
Adam Clarke : " Why, then, are there so many, even 
among sincere and godly ministers and people, who 
are so much opposed to the terms, and so much alarmed 
at the profession ? " 

83* Should not those who profess this blessing be 
definite, and use those Scripture terms which wih 
not mislead ? 

We should not be so indefinite, or make choice of 
such terms as amount to an actual or virtual denial of 
the work, or a refusal to bear the responsibility of this 



112 THE PROFESSION 

" high and holy calling." It is the truth that we arc 
to profess, the exact truth, as near as we can expresi 
it. Dr. Adam Clarke says, " This fitness, then, tc 
appear before God, and thorough preparation for eter- 
nal glory, is what I plead for, pray for, and h^artilj 
recommend to all true believers, under the name of 
Christian perfection. Had I a better name, one more 
energetic, one with a greater plenitude of meaning, 
one more worthy of the efficacy of the blood that 
bought our peace, and cleanseth from all unrighteous 
ness, I would gladly adopt and use it." 

84. Do not some profess this blessing' in terms seri 
ously objectionable ? 

This is doubtless sometimes the case ; as there is 
no Christian duty that has not been abused by incon- 
siderate, rash, and foolish men. The same is true in 
vward to the profession of justification. It can not be 
expected that the profession of holiness in this world 
full be wholly free from exhibitions of human frailty. 
The world is full of uncultivated, careless, rash, in^on- 
<iderate, and impetuous men, and the profession of 
holiness, like all other Christian duties, is liable to 
much abuse from them. The abuse of the profession 
of holiness, however, argues no more against the duty 
of profession, than tbe abuse of prayer argues against 
prayer as a duty. 

There are some wli3 profess holiness very careless 
iy, and who use objectionable and unguarded terms. 
These ? in most cases, are those who&e life and spirit 



OF HOLINESS. 113 

present but a sorry idea of Christian holiness. These 
persons will often profess holiness in the following and 
kindred expressions : " I am perfect," " I have not 
committed a sin for so many years," and the like. The 
careless utterance of such declarations by some of the 
professed friends of holiness has done much to injure 
shis precious doctrine, and bring its profession into 
disrepute. It was so in Mr. Wesley's day, and it is 
so in our day. No state of grace can dispense with 
good common sense, which, by the way, appears to be 
a very scarce article with some people. 

85. Should we not attack the most importance to 
the spirit in which the profession is made ? 

This is certainly the most important point in the pro- 
fession of holiness. The profession should be in a 
humble, meek, loving, Christ-exalting, and self -abasing 
spirit. Every thing that savors of self-congratulation, 
or of personal consequence, or of vain-glorious boasting, 
is seriously objectionable. The spirit of perfect love is 
just the spirit that should characterize its profession. 

&6. Is not the profession of holiness, assumed by 
some, as of itself, evidence of spiritual pride on the 
part of those who make a profession ? 

Eev. Charles G. Finney says, " It seems next to 
impossible, with the present views of the church, that 
an individual should really attain to this state, and pro- 
fess to live without known sin in a manner so humble 
as not of course to be suspected of enormous spiritual 

10* 



114 THE PROFESSION 

pride. This consideration has been a snare to some 
who have hesitated, and even neglected to declare 
what God had done for their souls, lest they should b*> 
accused of spiritual pride. And this has been a serkm 
injury to their pi§ty." 

87. Did Mr. Wesley profess perfect love ? 

I do not remember any instance of it, and it has be* 
contended that he did not make such profession. 
But I would remark — 

1. Mr. Wesley must be supposed to have said a thou 
sand things, touching his personal experience, which 
have not come down to us, and his profession of perfect 
love may very properly be supposed to have been 
among those things. 

2. If he did not profess perfect love he was inconsis- 
tent with himself, for he urged the profession of it as a 
duty upon others. That Mr. Wesley enjoyed this 
blessing who can doubt? Why did he take so much 
pains to bring out explicit testimony on the part of oth- 
ers, if he was not himself a witness of this grace ? 
If he did not profess perfect love, hundreds whom ho 
closely questioned, and urged to give explicit testimony 
on the subject, would have said, " Why do you so care- 
fully question us, since you deem it expedient to with- 
hold the testimony of your own lips ? " (See Sec. VII. 
p. 74.) Mr. Wesley's supposed non-profession, there- 
fore, is an example not to be followed. 

3. "It should be remembeied," says Rev. W. 
McDonald, " that Mr. Wesley did not record his 



OF HOLINESS. 115 

personal religious experience in his journals. Ho 
says no more about his justification (except that at 
Aldersgate he felt his ' heart strangely warmed ') than 
he does of his sanctification. Are we to conclude from 
this that he never professed justifying-grace ? " 

83. Did Mr. Wesley encourage the profession of 
holiness ? 

He did. I will give you a number of quota- 
tions from his journal and letters bearing upon this 
question. 

1. " One reason why those who are saved from sin 
should freely declare it to believers is, because nothing 
is a stronger incitement to them to seek after the same 
blessing. And we ought, by every possible means, to 
press every serious believer to forget the things w T hich 
are behind, and with all earnestness go on to per* 
fectionP 

2. " You can never speak too strongly or explicitly 
upon the head of Christian perfection. If you speak 
only faintly and indirectly, none will be offended and 
none profited. But if you speak out, although some 
will probably be angry, yet others will soon find the 
power of God unto salvation." 

3. "It requires a great degree of watchfulness to 
retain the perfect love of God ; and one great means of 
retaining it, is, frankly to declare what God has given 
you, and earnestly to exhort all the believers you meet 
with to follow after full salvation" 

4. " M the love feast Mr. C related the manner how 



116 THE PROFESSION 

God perfected him in love — a testimony which is 
always attended with a peculiar blessing" 

5. " By silence he might avoid many crosses which 
will naturally and necessarily ensue, if he simply de- 
clare, even among believers, what God has wrought in 
his soul. If, therefore, such a one were to confer with 
flesh and blood, he would be entirely silent. But this 
could not be done with a clear conscience, for undoubt- 
edly he ought to speak" 

6. " Undoubtedly it would be a cross to declare what 
God has done for your soul ; nay, and afterward Satan 
would accuse you on the account, telling you, ' You did 
it out of pride.' Yea, and some of your sisters would 
blame you, and perhaps put the same construction upon 
it. Nevertheless, if you do it with a single eye it will 
be well pleasing to God." 

7. " In the evening I spoke to those at Manches- 
ter who believed that God had cleansed their hearts. 
They were sixty-three in number, to about sixty of 
whom I could not find there was any reasonable 
objection." 

8. " A few witnesses of pure love remain there still, 
but several are gone to Abraham's bosom. Encourage 
those in Macclesfield who enjoy it, to speak explicitly 
what they do experience ; and to go on till they know 
all that ' love of God that passeth knowledge.' " 

9. Mrs. Hester Ann Kogers says, " Mr. Wesley came 
to Macclesfield, and I saw and "conversed with him for 
the first time. He behaved to me with parental tender- 
uess, and greatly rejoiced in the Lord's goodness to my 



OF HOLINESS. 11 f 

bouI ; encouraged me to hold fast, and to declare what 
the Lord had wrought" 

10. " For about three years he [Joseph Norbury] has 
humbly and boldly testified that God had saved him from 
all sin" 

11. He writes to his brother Charles, who was about 
to visit Macclesfield, where there were a large number 
of professors of holiness, " I believe you will rather en- 
courage them to speak, humbly and modestly, the words 
of truth and soberness. Let your knowledge direct, 
not quench, the fire. That has been done too much al- 
ready" 

12. Not a word of opposition to the profession of full 
salvation can be found in any of Mr. Wesley's writings. 
His rules of prudence in regard to the profession of 
holiness, given in his " Plain Account," and so often 
quoted by some, are all good and proper in their place, 
and we believe are usually observed by the professors 
and friends of holiness. If any claim that those rules 
conflict with the idea of a profession of holiness, the 
same as that of justification, I reply, (1.) I have never 
been able to see how they conflict in any way with a 
profession of full salvation, in the right place, at the 
right time, and in the right spirit — the same as that 
of justification. (2.) If there be a seeming conflict, let 
it be remembered, those rules were given during the 
early part of Mr. Wesley's ministry, and before the great 
revival of holiness about 1760, which, it must be ad- 
mitted, somewhat modified his views of the experience 
and profession of holiness. (See Sec. XIII. Ques. 97.) 



118 THE PROFESSION 

89. Did Mr. Wesley see that there would be opposi- 
tion in the church to the profession of holiness ? 

He did, and asks the following question : " But is there 
no way to prevent these crosses which usually fall on those 
who speak of being thus saved ? " He replies, " It seems 
they can not be prevented altogether while so much of 
nature remains even in believers. But something might 
be done if the preacher in every place would, (1.) Talk 
freely with all who speak thus ; and (2.) Labor to pre- 
vent the unjust or unkind treatment of those in favor of 
whom there is reasonable proof." 

Happy, happy would it have been for the church of 
God, if every Methodist minister had followed this ad- 
vice of the great founder of Methodism. But alas ! 
alas ! how many, instead of laboring to help and pro- 
tect those who have professed Christian holiness, have 
sided with their opposers, and labored to put down the 
profession of holiness in the church ! 

William Bramwell writes as follows to a young preach- 
er : "Live in it, talk about it, preach it, and enforce it with 
all patience, with all kindness ; and if you do this, hell, 
the world, and numbers among the Methodists, — yea, 
some leaders, if not preachers, — will in some artful way 
seek to hinder your success." 

90. Were the experience and prof ession of holiness a 
common thing in the early days of Methodism ? 

They were. We have records of professions of perfect 
(ore in all the journals of the old Methodists. They 
all speak of witnesses of regeneration, and also of 



OF HOLINESS. 119 

sanctification. Indeed, the golden pot of Methodist 
biography is brim full of the manna of sanctified ex- 
verience. 

The pastoral address of the General Conference in 
1832 says, " Among primitive Methodists the experience 
of this high attainment in religion may justly be said to 
have been common ; now a profession of it is rarely to 
be met with among us." 

I will give you a few brief extracts from the journals 
of several of the early preachers and members : — 

1. William Bramwell. " The work continued almost 
in every meeting, and sixty persons in and about Dews- 
berry received sanctification, and walked in that liberty." 
. . . " Four persons received sanctification, and some 
were left in distress." . . . Mr. Bramwell's biographer 
says, " He preached a present and a full salvation 
through faith in the Redeemer's blood ; and thousands 
will have to praise God in eternity that they ever heard 
from his lips the sound of such a gospel." 

2. William Carvosso. " Three entered into the enjoy- 
ment of entire sanctification, and bore a lively testimony 
to the power of Christ to save to the uttermost." . . 

" At the quarterly meeting, held at St. Austell, we had 
one of the best love feasts I ever attended. The testi- 
monies borne to the reality and blessedness of the doc- 
trine and experience of purity of heart, exceeded every 
thing of the kind I had before witnessed." ..." In all 
my pilgrimage I have never known so many clear testi- 
monies of the power of God to save from all sin, as I 
have of late." 



120 THE PROFESSION 

3. Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers. " After Mr. Fletcher 
[the saintly John Fletcher] ceased to speak, about thirty 
witnessed for Jesus that they, through grace, were dead 
indeed unto sin." . • . " I rose early to collect the 
members of the select band ; and in relating to them 
the testimony of God's dear servant, Mr. Fletcher, and 
that of the witnesses of full salvation I heard at Leeds, 
they felt fresh desires to be all the Lord's." . . . "While 
you enjoyed and professed Christian holiness, you lived 
by simple faith, and Christ lived in you." . . . " In the 
band thirty witnessed that they were ' dead indeed unto 
sin, and alive unto God through Jesus Christ.' " 

4. Mr. Wesley., " In London alone I found sixhun- 
dred and fifty-two members of our society who were ex 
ceedingly clear in their experience, and whose testimony 
I could see no reason to doubt. . . . And every one of 
these (after the most careful inquiry I have not found 
one exception) has declared that his deliverance from 
sin was instantaneous." Many quotations might be 
given from Mr. Wesley's journal, showing that a multi 
tude of persons professed sanctification under his la- 
bors, in all parts of England and Ireland. 

5. Bishop Asbury says, " I think we ought modestly 
to tell what we feel to the fullest. For two years past, 
amidst innumerable trials, I have enjoyed almost inex- 
vressible sensations. Our Pentecost is come in some 
places for sanctification. I have good reason to believe 
that upon the eastern shore four thotisand have been 
converted since the first of May last, and one thousand 



OF HOLINESS. 121 

6. Benjamin Abbott. " Before the meeting was over, 
six or seven professed sanctification of soul." . . . 
" Prayer was kept up without intermission for the space 
of three hours; eight souls professed sanctification." . . . 
64 As they came to, they all praised God, and not one 
bovlI but what professed either to have received justifica- 
tion or sanctification, eight of whom professed the lat- 
ter." . . . " One young woman cried out that she was 
not an angel, but she knew God had given her a clean 
heart, and had sanctified her soul." ..." Here I met 
with C. R., a pious young woman, who professed sancti- 
fication, and her life corresponded therewith." . . . 
" Some were justified, some were sanctified, and others 
seemed lost in the ocean of redeeming love." . . . 
" Here I met with Catharine Yan Wyck, an Israelite, in 
whom I believe there is no guile ; she professes holiness, 
and I believe she enjoys it." . . . " In the love feast the 
people spoke the clearest of justification and sanctifica- 
tion, in point of distinction between them y oi any I have 
heard in these parts. About thirty had professed sanc- 
tification from the time I went on the circuit till then." 
. . . " Some professed sanctification, and others ex- 
perienced justification under preaching." . . . " in love 
feast several testified that God had sanctified their souls 
while I had been on the circuit." 

Let me here give an extract from the minutes of the 
New York Conference for the year 1796. It contains the 
testimony of Mr. Abbott's brethren in the ministry, and 
shows how he stood in the esteem and opinion of the 
old New York Conference : — 

11 



122 THE PROFESSION 

" Question, — Who have died this year ? 

" Answer. — Benjamin Abbott, about twenty-three 
years in the society ; several years a local preacher. . . . 
He was a man of childlike simplicity and sincerity ; of 
great faith and unshaken confidence. . . » He was owned 
of God as an instrument of convincing, converting, and 
sanctifying power to many souls. . . . An uncommon 
zealot for the blessed work of sanctification, and preached 
it on all occasions and in all congregations , and what 
was best of all, lived it. He was an innocent, holy 
man ; he was seldom heard to speak about any thing 
but God and religion ; his whole soul was often over- 
whelmed with the power of God. He was known to 
hundreds as a truly primitive Methodist preacher, and a 
man full of faith and the Holy Ghost" 

91. At what points is caution necessary in the pro- 
fession of perfect love ? 

1. It may be professed too soon, before it is really at- 
tained. In this case a profession is disastrous both to 
the professor and to the cause. Friends are grieved, and 
objections to professing holiness are strengthened. But 
in avoiding this extreme, do not run to the other, as, in 
view of the opposition in the church to the profession 
of holiness, there is much more danger that you will 
not profess it soon enough, than that you will profess it 
too soon. 

2. It may be professed with too little humility of 
manner. All carelessness or presumption should bo 
avoided in the profession of holiness. It is your duty, 



OF HOLINESS. 123 

and for your spiritual interest, to profess all the grace 
received and spiritual victories obtained ; but it should 
oe done with proper humility of mind. To do it 
otherwise is as intrinsically perilous as not to profess 
it at all. 

3. It may be done with too much self-confidence, or 
with self-seeking. And self-seeking is one of the most 
subtle snares of the human soul. We need to guard 
this point with great care, and seek constant help from 
Christ against it. There is danger "of self-seeking even 
in professing sanctification. We are to seek Christ in 
all things, and beware of self-seeking. 

4. It may be done with too much reliance upon the 
mere profession as a means of retaining holiness. While 
it is one of the means (and we think an indispensable 
one) for the retainment of entire sanctification, it should 
not be put in the place of Christ, who alone can keep 
the soul in the perfect love of God. We are to abide 
in Christ. Professing is beneficial to the sanctified soul 
only as it tends to obey and please Christ, and leads the 
soul to trust the more implicitly in him. The soul 
should never rest for salvation on any thing itself has 
done or may do, instead of resting on Christ. 

Let your profession be seasonable, truthful, hilmble, 
and to the glory of God, and never rely upon it in the 
place of Christ, and it will be pleasing to God, useful to 
the church, and a blessing to yourself. 



124 WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOVE. 

SECTION ELEVENTH. 

WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOYE. 

9 2 • Will you present afeiv extracts from some of the 
professors of perfect love ? 

- 1. Paul the Apostle. " Ye are witnesses, God also, 
how holily, and justly, and unblamably we behaved our- 
selves among you that believe." If to be holy, just, and 
unblamable be not entire sanctification, what is it ? 

2. Rev. John Fletcher. " I will confess him to all 
the world ; and I declare unto you, in the presence of 
God, the holy Trinity, I am now ' dead indeed unto sin.' 
I do not say, ' I am crucified with Christ,' because some 
of our well-meaning brethren say, ' By this can only be 
meant a gradual dying ; ' but I profess unto you, I am 
dead unto sin, and alive unto God. He is my Prophet, 
Priest, and King-; my indwelling holiness; my all in 
all' 9 

3. Rev. William Bramwell. " The Lord, for whom I had 
waited, came suddenly to the temple of my heart, and 
I had an immediate evidence that this was the blessing 
I had been for some time seeking. My soul was all 
ivonder, love, and praise. It is now about twenty-six 
years ago ; I have walked in this liberty ever since. Glory 
be to God ! I have been kept by his power. By faith I 
stand. . . . I then declared to the people what God 
had done for my soul ; and I have done so on every 
proper occasion since that time, believing it to be a duty 



WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOVE. 125 

incumbent upon me. For God does not impart bless- 
ings to his children to be concealed in their own bosoms." 

4. Rev. James B. Taylor. " I am ready to testify to 
the world, that the Lord has blessed my soul beyond my 
highest expectations. People may call this blessing 
by w T hat name they please — 'faith of assurance,' ' holi- 
ness,' ' perfect love,' ' sanctification.' It makes no dif- 
ference with me whether they give it a name or no name ; 
it contains a blessed reality, and, thanks to my heavenly 
Father, it is my privilege to enjoy it ; it is yours also, 
and the privilege of all, to enjoy the same, and to go be- 
yond any thing that I have ever yet experienced." . . . 
" Some, I expect, are a little disaffected to think I pro- 
fess the doctrine of perfect love. They do not under- 
stand, because they have not experienced it" 

5. William Carvosso. " Justat that moment a heavenly 
influence filled the room ; and no sooner had I uttered 
or spoken the words from my heart, ' I shall have the 
blessing now,' than refining fire went ' through my heart, 
illuminating my soul, scattered its life through every 
part, and sanctified the w T hole.' I then received the 
full witness of the Spirit that the blood of Jesus had 
cleansed me from all sin. I cried out, ' This is what I 
wanted. I have now got a new heart.' I was emptied 
of self and sin, and filled with God." 

6. Dr. Adam Clarke. This great and good man sought 
and obtained a clean heart in the twenty-second year 
of his life, and writes as follows to Mr. Wesley : " I re- 
garded nothing, not even life itself, in comparison of 
having my heart cleansed from all sin ; and began to 

11* 



126 WITNESSES OP PERFECT LOVE. 

seek it with full purpose of heart. Thus I continued 
looking for it, and frequently in great distress, till 
December, 1782, when I opened my mind to a local 
preacher, who, I had heard, was a partaker of this pre- 
cious privilege ; from him I received some encourage- 
ment and direction, and so set out afresh in quest of it, 
endeavoring, with all my strength, to believe in the 
ability and willingness of my God to accomplish the 
great work. Soon after this, while earnestly wrestling 
with the Lord in prayer, and endeavoring self-desper- 
ately to believe, I found a change wrought in my soul, 
which I endeavored, through grace, to maintain amid 
the grievous temptations and accusations of the sub- 
tle foe." 

In after life Dr. Clarke said, " It has been no small 
mercy to me that, in the course of my religious life, I 
have met with many persons who professed that the 
blood of Christ had saved them from all sin, and whose 
profession was maintained by an immaculate life" 

7. Rev. Benjamin Abbott. " That moment the 
Spirit of God came upon me in such a manner that 
I fell flat to the floor, and lay as one strangling in 
blood, while my wife and children stood weeping over 
me. But I had not power to lift hand or foot, nor yet 
to speak one word; I believe I lay half x an hour, and 
felt the power of God running through every part 
of my soul and body, like fire consuming the inward 
corruptions of fallen, depraved nature. In three days 
God gave me a full assurance that he had sanctified me, 
soul and body. ' If a man love me he will keep my 



JANKABAI, THE CONVERTED GOSAVEEN. 




]BOUT sixty-five years ago in Bombay was 
born a poor little low caste Hindu girl. It 
mav be that her father, an officer in the 
army, was angry because she was only a 
little girl, but he was a good man and soon loved his 
little daughter and tried to do all he could for her, 
In those days only a very few high caste Hindu girls 
were educated, and her father with much difficult v 
finally succeeded in getting his little girl, together 
with the daughter of another army officer, into a 
government school where they learned to read, write, 
count, &c. When six years of age she was married 
to a boy of thirteen. As her father-in-law was an 
officer in a different regiment she did not become 
acquainted with her husband until she went to live at 
his house, a few years after the betrothal. Her 
husband was very proud that his wife could read and 
taught her still more. She lived a very respectable 
and happy life until twenty years of age when her 
husband died. Jankabai was now alone with con- 
siderable property which her husband had left her. 
A month after her husband's death she gave birth to 
a little son, her only child, 



Poor Jankabai was very anxious to have her sins 
forgiven, and to be saved after death. She had great 
faith in the gods and worshipped them very zealously. 
She read several sacred books of the Hindus, that 
she might learn the way of salvation. She went on 
many pilgrimages to holy cities of the Hindus, and 
to the sacred streams in whose waters she bathed, 
firmly believing that if she did many works of this 
kind she should at last merit salvation. On the bank 
of one of these streams she built a ghat — (stone steps 
leading from the top of the bank down into the 
water), so that pilgrims may easily go down to bathe. 
At another place, Pandharpoor, she built a rest-house 
for pilgrims, who, like herself frequented that sacred 
place each year to celebrate the festival of Vitoba. 
Jankabai fasted each fortnightly fast day, each 
Monday, and each Saturday, for many years. She 
frequently hired musicians, and invited her caste 
people in to hear them sing the praises of the gods. 
In her house she kept a great idol cut out of stone, 
which the people came to worship, and it was her 
custom to hire a religious teacher to read the sacred 
Hindu Shastras, and to teach the people who came 
to worship. In this way during many years of devo- 
tion she spent her money and was finally obliged to 
go out to service. 

God directed her to the family of Mr. Gordon who 
loved the true God and sought to lead their servants 
to do the same. Mr. Gordon's godly life and 
teachings were the beginning of good seed sown on 
fruitful ground Jankabai's son died at the age of 
thirty. To comfort her in this great trial Mr. Gordon 
gave her a Bible from which she read to her great 
satisfaction. The Rev. Geo. Bowen, who was a fre- 
quent visitor at Mr. Gordon's home, also instructed 
her, and she began to feel that perhaps all her 
devotion to the gods was in vain and that she was 



resting in a false' hope. 

When Jankabai was too old to go out to service 
she hired a piece of ground just back of the Grant 
Road Methodist Church, on which she built a house 
to rent that she might thus obtain a livelihood. Her 
landlord did not make out the papers properly, and 
he soon demanded a much larger rental. This 
she could not give. The case was taken into the 
court and at first decided in her favor, but being 
carried into a higher court was lost ; whereupon her 
landlord tore down her house thus relieving her of 
her little property — the savings of several years of toil. 
During the years Jankabai lived near the Methodist 
Church she was frequently visited and prayed with 
by Rev. Geo. Bowen, Rev. Gungadher Kale, and 
Miss De Line's workers from the Zenana Mission. On 
losing her property she felt that it was the voice of 
God calling her to give up her idols and serve Him 
only. She asked of Him and received, without 
money and without price, that rest of soul which she 
had been trying to merit by good deeds, sacrifices, 
pilgrimages, and the faithful worship of various idols. 
She had spent her all in this way, and now she had 
no costly gift to lay down at the feet of Jesus ; but 
when she came He freely gave her peace and joy. 
Her gratitude was very great. She said "I love thee 
my Lord. I will seek to bring as many as I can to 
bow at thy feet." 

She was baptised July 24th, 1887, by Rev. W. W. 
Bruere, and a short time afterwards came to Miss De 
Line asking her to let her work as a Bible woman. 
Miss De Line gave her a room and taught her how 
to teach the first few verses of the first of the Gospel 
of John. Jankabai continued to teach from this 
passage for several months. The words seemed to 
grow upon her. Jesus was the Word. He was 
made flesh and dwelt among us. And as she taught 



4 

this lesson day after day, in Sunday schools, and in 
the houses of the people the light shone upon her 
darkness and illuminated her mind. About a year 
after her conversion I took her with several other native 
people to a tea-meeting which Rev. A. W. Prautch 
gave to the native helpers. The subject of the Holy 
Spirit was talked about at the meeting. She seemed 
to grasp the promise by faith and the next morning 
when I asked her to lead at family worship she 
opened the Bible at that same first chapter of John 
and read a little farther on than usual, " He shall 
baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." 
Wonderful words ! I wish you could have seen her 
face shining with the glory of God as she told us 
about the cleansing power of the Holy Ghost. From 
that time the Scriptures seemed rapidly to unfold 
before her. She labored faithfully and was the means 
of bringing several to Christ. 

Jankabai's honesty, truthfulness and trustworthi- 
ness cannot be spoken of too highly. Her influence 
upon all with whom she came in contact was that of 
one whose life was hid with Christ in God. All had 
confidence in her and received her teaching with 
great respect. She taught the women of the church 
to read, and to know the w T ay of life more perfectly. 
She taught several how to do work that they might 
earn a livelihood. She often aided in the work 
among the orphans and boarders, and when the girls 
were under her supervision we always felt safe and 
happy. In short she was our advisor and friend, 
whose place we shall not easily fill. It was she who 
told us how to do many things in connection with the 
work in which we, not knowing native character and 
customs, would have failed had we been without some 
one who had the interests of God's work at heart. 

One day when I returned from my work weary, I 
sought an hour's rest with her in her room. I said, 



"Jankabai, to-day I had a long talk with a Hindu 
man. He said, ' The Supreme Being created me, 
and why does He not redeem me ? Why do I need 
Jesus Christ to save me ? You say that Jesus Christ 
is the son of God. No son is greater than his father, 
then why should the son be our Saviour ? ' Now 
how do you answer that question ? " She replied, 
" The evidence is all there in that first chapter of John, 
and they understand that. The Word was in the be- 
ginning ; the Word created ail things ; the Word 
was made flesh and dwelt among us. That will con- 
vince them." 

About four months before her death Miss Carroll 
and I were very much in need of some workers, and 
did not know where to find them. We said to her,» 
"We must raise up some workers in our own church ; 
now how can it be done." She replied, " You must 
take the material you have at hand and prepare it 
for the work. I should say that as we find them we 
should take respectable women who are free from 
home cares and gather them into a home where they 
will be given their food and clothing if too poor to 
provide it for themselves. Teach them to read, ex- 
plain the Scriptures to them, and seek to lead them 
into the true light. When they can do a little work 
send them out with a woman of experience, and in a 
short time we shall have a band of workers." We 
began to act upon her advice. She and Mr. 
Gungadher canvassed the native church and found 
five women who desired to learn. As these all had 
family cares or work, they came as day pupils. Thus 
a very interesting work, well begun, was broken off 
by the illness of Jankabai. Miss Carroll sent her to 
Poona for a change and did all she could to restore 
her to health, but as we saw her strength waning we 
felt sure she was slipping away from us. It seemed 
that we could not spare her in the midst of so great 



a work and just when we needed her so much, but 
God knew best, and we bowed submissively to His 
will. 

One evening I went to her room and said, " Well, 
Jankabai, how is it with your soul to-night ? " She 
answered, " I am washed very clean in the blood of 
Christ, and I have the witness within that I am His 
child. My soul is full of peace and joy." Then we 
talked long about the love of God and the interests of 
the work. The next day she was taken worse and 
for four weeks was confined to her bed, where she 
gave witness to her many friends who came from day 
to day, of her peace, her readiness to go or to stay, 
to suffer or to be released from suffering as pleased 
the Father. 

Miss Carroll ministered to her bodily wants as long 
as she remained with us. She peacefully passed 
away January 7th, 1891, leaving behind her many 
who will rise up to call her blessed. When she was 
laid out the women whom she had taught and those 
who had labored with her gathered about her bed 
which they had strewn with flowers. During the 
whole day her old Hindu neighbors and Christian 
friends crowded the room, and for these who had not 
yet accepted the teaching she so gladly gave during 
her lifetime the zenana visitors and Christian women 
kept up a constant service of singing, reading, prayer 
and preaching. Many of them remained during the 
funeral, and they said, " See, as she sowed she is 
now reaping. She was kind to every one in her life- 
time, and now at its close when she needed help she 
was not without friends to love and care for her." 
We did not know that she had any money, but 
after her death we found enough to pay her 
doctor's bill, her funeral expenses, and sufficient to 
support a Bible woman for one year. It was her re- 
quest that her money be used in mission work. Thus 



she provided the means of perpetuating her work 
after her death. 

Was not her whole life an example to us. Which 
one of us is ready to give her all to the Lord ? May 
God grant that this little story may show the poor 
how much they can do and sacrifice for Jesus, and 
lead the rich to give freely out of their treasures for 
the perishing millions, who, like Jankabai before she 
came to Christ, are spending their all for that which 
satisfieth not. 

Minnie F. Abrams. 
Khetwadi, Bombay, India. 




8 



A PORTION OF JUNKABAVS FAVOURITE CHAPTER. 



Sf the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
and the Word was God. 
The same was in the beginning with God. 

3 All things were made by him ; and without him was not any 
tiling made that was made. 

4 In him was life ; and the life was the light of men. 

5 And the light shineth in darkness ; and the darkness com- 
prehended it not. 

6 «I There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, 
that all men through him might believe. 

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that 
Light. . 

q That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that 

cometh into the world. . 

to He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and 
the world knew him not. 

n He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to 
become the sons of God, even to them that believe <>n his name : 

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 
nor of the will of man, but of God. 

1 1 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, ( and 
we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the 
Father,) full of grace and truth. 



Vnglo-Vernacular Press & " Bombay Guardian " Printing Works, Bombay. 



WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOVE. 127 

words ; and rny Father will love him, and we will come 
unto him and make our abode with him,' which I found, 
day by day, manifested to my soul, by the witness of 
the Spirit : glory to God for what he then did, and since 
has done, for poor me." 

8. Bishop Hamline. He says, " All at once, he fell 
as though a hand not feeble, but omnipotent, not of 
wrath, but of love, were laid on his brow. He felt it noi 
only outwardly, but inwardly. It seemed to press upon 
his whole body, and to diffuse all through and through 
it a holy j sin-consuming energy. As it passed down- 
ward, his heart as well as his head was conscious of the 
presence of this soul-cleansing energy, under the influ- 
ences of which he fell to the floor, and, in the joyful 
surprise of the moment, cried out in a loud voice. . . . 
For a few minutes, the deep of God's love swallowed 
him up ; all its waves and billows rolled over him." 

9. Father Reeves. " For several weeks past* my soul 
has been longing for a clearer testimony from the Spirit 
of my entire sanctification. I pleaded hard with the 
Lord for it, and, glory be to my heavenly Father, he 
very soon granted me the desire of my heart, though 
so unworthy, said filled my soul with perfect love.''' 

10. Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers. " I was deeply pen- 
etrated with his presence, and stood as if unable to 
move, and was insensible to all around me. While 
thus lost in communion with my Saviour, he spake 
those words to my heart : ' All that I have is thine. I 
am Jesus, in whom dwells all the fullness of the God- 
head bodily. I am thine My Spirit is thine My 



128 WITNESSES OP PERFECT LOYE 

Father is thine. They love thee as I love thee. The 
whole Deity is thine. He even now overshadows thee* 
He now covers thee with a cloud of his presence.' All 
this was so realized to my soul, in a manner I can not 
explain, that I sunk down motionless, being unable to 
sustain the weight of his glorious presence and fullness 
of love" 

11. Dr. Upham. "I was distinctly conscious when 
I reached it. ... I was then redeemed by a mighty 
power, and filled with the blessing of perfect love. . . . 
There was calm sunshine upon my soul. The praise 
of God was continually upon my lips." . . . " I was 
never able before that time to say, with sincerity and 
confidence, that I loved my heavenly Father with all 
my strength. But, aided by divine grace, I have been 
enabled to use this language, which involves, as I un- 
derstand it, the true idea of Christian perfection or 
holiness, both then and ever since. There was no in- 
tellectual excitement, no marked joys, when I reached 
this great rock of practical salvation. But I was dis- 
tinctly conscious when I reached it." 

12. Mrs. Upham. " But I had come to the Bible to 
receive and believe it all, and my eyes fastened on the 
promise of our Saviour, ' Blessed are they that do 
hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall bo 
filled.' Blessed, sweet promise ! my heart swells with 
emotion while I repeat it. While pleading this prom- 
ire, kneeling before God with the words upon my lips, 
1 felt a sweet assurance that my prayer was heard; 
a sensible peace entered into my soul. I arose and* 



WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOVE. 12 ( J 

returned to my Bible with new emotion. Now I saw and 
believed. . . . But after this peace or love entered into 
my soul, nothing moved me." 

13. Dr. Olin. " I have never felt my evidence 
more clear. Indeed, my religious experience for the 
last two years has been full of consolations, and free 
from doubts. I am not sure that I ever wrote to you 
my whole mind on this subject, though a marked 
change has occurred in my feelings and views. I am 
at least a full believer in our higher doctrines in regard 
to Christian attainments ; and i" sometimes say to my 
intimate friends that I have great comfort in believing 
that I have been made a partaker of this grace. Doubt- 
less God's will is even our sanctification ; and we 
offend no less against our highest interests than against 
his most gracious designs when we rest below the best 
attainable position in religion." 

14. Mrs. Phoebe Palmer. " While thus es ulting, 
the voice of the Spirit again appealingly appliHi to my 
understanding, ' Is not this sanctification ? ' I could 
no longer hesitate ; reason as well as grace ibi^ade ; 
and I rejoiced in the assurance that I was wfultq sanc- 
tified throughout body, soul, and spirit. 0, with what 
triumph did my soul expatiate on the infinitude r f the 
atonement ! I saw its unbounded efficacy as sufficient 
to cleanse a world of sinners, and present them farlt* 
less before the throne. I felt that I was enabled to 
plunge and lose myself in this ocean of purity : yes> 

1 Plunged in the Godhead's deepest sea, 
And lost in love's immensity.' " 



180 WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOYE. 

15. Re v. Henry Smith. "For thirteen years 1 have 
preached holiness, or Christian perfection, to others, 
and lived without it myself; but now, my brother, I 
know experimentally what it is to love God ivith all 
my heart. After a long, a painful, struggle, my soul, 
by simple believing, stepped into liberty — glorious lib- 
erty. The 13th day of last June my soul was filled 
with perfect peace and love. I am happy, solidly hap- 
py, in the enjoyment of perfect love. My soul is on 
fire; I feel as nothing before the Lord. Christ is my 
all." Father Smith was for many years a useful 
preacher in the Baltimore Conference. 

16. Rev. Joseph Benson. "I could do nothing but 
pray that I might be holy, even as He is holy. Every 
thing else appeared to be so insignificant as not to de- 
serve a thought. 0, how I long to speak of nothing 
else! . . . My soul was, as it were, let into God, and 
satiated with his goodness. He so strengthened my 
faith as to perfectly banish all my doubts, and fears, 
and so filled me with humble, peaceful love, that I could 
and did devote my soul and body, and health and 
strength, to his glory and service. . . . O, what a 
change hath God wrought in me ! Glory be to God ! 
I am, indeed, put in possession of a new nature. . . . 
Over and over again, with infinite sweetness, did I 
dedicate myself to God." 

17. Rev. Asa Kent. " I have reason to believe, fifty- 
six years ago this month, God took full possession of 
my heart, and filled me with pure love." He tells us 
that he lost the blessing by not professing it. After 



WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOVE. 131 

seven years of doubt and trial, lie obtained the blessing 
again, and forty-nine years after this restoration he 
writes, " I think I may say that for the last forty-nine 
years I have enjoyed this grace in a greater or less 
degree" 

18. Rev. David Stoner. " My heart was softened, 
and warmed, and filled; my prayer was turned into 
praises, and I could do nothing but shout, i Glory be 
to God ! ' I felt that God had taken possession of my 
heart. This morning I enjoy, in part, the sweetness 
of it. I have been severely harassed with the idea 
that it was only enthusiasm, or a delusion. But I wish 
to keep my evidence. I feel nothing contrary to love. 
1 want to be every moment filled with God. Whether 
I hold or not, I am sure that God took full possession 
of my heart on the 14th of July." Glory to God! 
he held on, and his able biographers, Messrs. Hannah 
and Dawson, of the British Conference, state, " From 
this time the public labors of Mr. Stoner were crowned 
with more visible and extensive success." 

19. Rev. Wilbur Fisk in early life acknowledged his 
need of holiness as an essential qualification for his 
holy calling, confessed his inbred sin, and enlisted the 
prayerful sympathies of a kittle Christian band at East- 
ham camp-meeting, and bowed as a humble seeker of 
Christian purity. 

He became a witness of perfect love, and in succeed- 
ing years his ministrations and life exhibited the beauty 
of holiness. 

20. Mrs. Edwards, wife of President Edwards 



lo2 WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOVE. 

That eminent lady, Mrs. Edwards, in the year 1712, 
sought and obtained what she called " the full assur- 
ance, of faith," and what Methodists call " perfect love," 
"holiness," and " entire sanctification," and then 
gives her glowing experience in the following words : 
" I can not find language to express how certain the 
everlasting love of God appeared ; the everlasting 
mountains and hills were but shadows to it. My safety, 
and happiness, and eternal enjoyment of God's immu- 
table love seemed as durable and unchangeable as 
God himself. Melted and overcome by the sweetness 
of this assurance, I fell into a great flow of tears, and 
could not forbear weeping aloud. The presence of 
God was so near and so real, that I seemed scarcely 
conscious of any thing else. 

" At night my soul seemed to be filled with an inex- 
pressibly sweet and pure love to God and to the chil- 
dren of God, with a refreshing consolation and solace 
of soul which made me willing to lie on the earth at 
the feet of the servants of God, to declare his gracious 
dealings with me, and breathe forth before them my 
love, and gratitude^ and praise. All night I continued 
in a constant, clear, and lively sense of the heavenly 
sweetness of Christ's excellent and transcendent love, 
of his nearness to me, and of my dearness to him, with 
an inexpressibly sweet calmness of soul in an entire 
rest in him. 

" My soul remained in a heavenly elysium. I think 
what I felt each minute during the continuance of the 
whole time worth more than all the outward comfort 



WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOYE. 133 

and pleasure which I had enjoyed in my whole life put 
together. It was a pure delight which fed and satis- 
fied my soul. It was a sweetness which my soul was 
Lost in. 

" In the house of God, so conscious was I of the joy- 
ful presence of the Holy Spirit, that I could scarcely 
refrain from leaping with transports of joy. My soul 
was filed and overwhelmed with light, and love, and 
joy in the Holy Ghost, and seemed just ready to go 

away from the body This exaltation of soul 

sujbsided into a heavenly calm and a rest of soul in 
God, which was even sweeter than what preceded it. 
My mind remained so much in a similar frame for 
more than a week that I never could think of it with- 
out an inexpressible sweetness in my soul." 

Such, dear reader, was the glorious experience of 
that devoted Presbyterian lady, as given by herself. 
Can you find a more strong, or clear and glowing, pro- 
fession of " purity," or " perfect love," on record ? I 
have read the great mass of Methodist biography, and 
am free to say I do not remember one that will equal it. 

Hallelujah to the great God ! thousands can testify 
to this same baptism of power, of love, and of heavenly 
sweetness which Mrs. Edwards describes, and which 
she experienced over a hundred years ago. The de- 
scription of her experience harmonizes perfectly with 
vast multitudes who have sought and obtained perfect 
love since her day. She writes a glowing experience ; 
but it falls infinitely short of the reality. The intense 
sweetness, the superior excellence, and the divine glory 

12 



134 WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOVE. 

of Christ's love can never be fully described. An 
when a soul is entirely sanctified to God, and can truth 
fully say, as Mrs. Edwards did, " My soul is JiUea 
and overwhelmed with lights and love, and joy in the 
Holy Ghost, and seems just ready to go away from 
the body," there is no danger of exaggeration. 

21. Dr. Payson. " Were I to adopt the figurative 
language of Bunyan, I might date this letter from th& 
land of Beulah, of which I have been for some weeks a 
happy resident. The Celestial City is full in view ; its 
glories beam upon me ; its breezes fan me ; its odors 
are wafted to me ; its sounds strike my ears, and its 
spirit is breathed into my heart. Nothing separates 
me from it but the river of death, which now appears 
but as an insignificant rill that may be crossed at a 
single step whenever God gives permission. The Sun 
of righteousness has been gradually drawing nearer 
and nearer, appearing larger and brighter as he ap- 
proached, and now he fills the whole hemisphere, pour- 
ing forth a flood of glory, in which I seem to float like 
an insect in the beams of the sun, exulting, yet almost 
trembling, while I gaze upon this excessive brightness, 
and wondering with unutterable wonder why God 
should deign thus to shine upon a sinful worm." 

22. Rev. E. Owen. " It is now six weeks since I 
consecrated my all to God. He accepted the offering. 
Glory to his name ! From that time all has been 
peaceful and happy within. God has guided me in all 
matters in a way to astonish me. His hand appears 
hi all that concerns me. His whole guidance can be 



WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOVE. 1 3o 

understood only by those who enjoy i like preciom 
faith? My heart, my life, and rny preaching have 
undergone a material change. Since the Lord brought 
me into this ' large place J I have plenty of texts and 
sermons at hand. Indeed, every text to me seems like 
a sermon of itself. No language can describe my en- 
joyment for the six weeks past. My faith is unwaver- 
ing. I can now endure ' as seeing Him who is invisi- 
ble.' It is no longer a mere theory with me that ' all 
things work together for good to them that love God.' 
With the apostle, I can say, I ' know ' this to be so. 
This is living in earnest. ' Glory to God in the high- 
est ! ' Amen." 

23. Rev. B. W. Gorham. " I was at first in mo- 
mentary expectation of some wonderful sensations or 
views ; but I seemed only to be let down into unknown 
depths of quiet, humble love. There was no more a 
contest in my soul. All was peace, perfect peace. It 
was indeed ' the peace of God which passeth all under 
standing.' 

" For a time I had no wish to speak to any one, but 
remained on my face before the Lord, uttering to my- 
self some of the views presented 4o my mind by the 
Spirit — ' God in exchange for a worm ' — 'I am thy 
God ' — ' All are yours ' — ' The pure in heart shall 
see God.' These views, as they broke successively 
upon my mind, seemed to lead me as a guest from 
room to room and from story to story of a mansion 
inconceivably rich and beautiful, and all presented by 
the Holy Spirit to my wondering soul as its own rich 
heritage in Christ. 



136 WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOVE. 

" All vain ambition, all distracting solicitude, all 
pride and self-will, and all fear, whether of future dis- 
grace, or of poverty, or death, were gone ; and from 
that time my spirit has constantly and consciously 
rested in the bosom of infinite love. It has been a 
heaven of purity and peace." 

24. Lady Maxwell. " How shall I sufficiently praise 
the Lord that I am still a happy inhabitant of that de- 
lightful land ? Still struggling to scale the mount of 
holiest love, I have gained some steps, but feel restless 
to reach the summit. My God is to me as a place of 
broad rivers, wide and deep. I rest in him ; I dvjell 
in him. Sinking into him, I lose myself, and prove a- 
life of fellowship with Deity so divinely sweet I would 
not relinquish it for a thousand worlds. It is indeed a 
narrow path ; but love levels every mountain, makes 
all easy. 

1 ' ' O love divine, how sweet thou art ! ' 

" When I look back, I rejoice to see what I am saved 
from ; when I look forward, it is all pure expanse of 
unbounded love. Surely the heaven of heavens is 
love." 

Lady Maxwell enjoyed and professed perfect love for 
near thirty years. She was led to Christ by Mr. Wes- 
ley, and enjoyed his acquaintance during twenty-seven 
years. 

25. Bishop Whatcoat. " After many sharp and pain 
ful conflicts, and many gracious visitations also, on the 
28th of March, 1761, my soul was drawn out and en- 
gaged in a manner it never was before. Suddenly 1 



WITNESSES OF PERFECT LOVE. 137 

was stripped of all but love. And in this happy state, 
rejoicing evermore, and in every thing giving thanks, 1 
continued some years with little intermission or abate- 
ment, wanting nothing for soul or body more than I 
received from day to day." Mr. Wakely, in his " Lost 
Chapters of Methodism," says respecting Bishop What- 
coat, " For purity of character, for self- denial, for deep 
devotion, for heavenly-mindedness, for divine unction, 
none of our preachers has ever surpassed him. Holi- 
ness was his constant theme." 

26. Bishop Asbury professed perfect love as follows : 
" I live in patience, in purity, and in the perfect love 
of God." 

27. Rev. William Hunter. " I prayed and wept at 
his footstool that he would show me all his salvation, 
and he gave me to experience such a measure of his 
grace as I never knew before ; a great measure of 
heavenly light and divine power spread through my 
soul. I found unbelief taken away out of my heart. 
My soul was filled with such faith as I never felt before. 
My love to Christ was like fire, and I had such views of 
him as my life, my portion, my all, as swallowed me 
up. And 0, how I longed to be with him ! A change 
passed upon all the powers of my soul. I may say 
with humility, it was as though I was emptied of all 
evil and filled with heaven and God." 

28. The Psalmist David. " I have not hid thy right- 
eousness within my heart. I have declared thy faithful- 
ness and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy loving- 
kindness and thy truth from the great congregation." 

12* 



138 WITNESSES OF CHRISTIAN HOLINESS. 

These witnesses of Perfect Love might be greatly 
augmented if the limits of this volume would allow. 
Those we have given have been connected with the 
various branches of the Protestant church of God. and 
yet they all essentially accord with the Wesleyan views 
of perfect love. Some of them are among the clearest 
cases of entire sanctification on record. 

Reader, let these testimonies stimulate you to seek 
after the same grace, and to give all diligence to make 
fdiiT calling and election sure. 

" Witnesses can be produced 

Of this glorious work of love — 
Paul and James, and John and Peter, 

Long before they went above. 
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands 

Have, and do, and will appear. 
Let me ask the solemn question, — 

* Has the Lord a witness here I ' w 



PERFECT LOVE. 139 



SECTION TWELFTH. 

REASONS WHY EVERY CHRISTIAN ' SHOULD BE 
ENTIRELY SANCTIFIED. 

93. Will you present some reasons why every Chris- 
tian should be entirely sanctified to God ? 

1. It is the duty of every Christian to be entirely 
sanctified to God. God requires his children to love 
him with all their hearts. Whoever willfully neglects 
'thus *to love him commits a great sin. He loses justifi- 
cation, or a sense of pardon, because he commits a 
known sin by neglecting a known duty. God's author- 
ity commands us to be holy. " Be ye holy." Will 
you refuse ? (See Sec. XVII.) 

2. It is the most useful life you can live. Other 
circumstances being equal, you will be useful in pro- 
portion as you are holy. God can use a holy soul, 
because that soul will not take the glory to itself, but 
will give all the glory to God. " He shall be a vessel 
unto honor, sanctified and meet for the Master's use." 
A present and full salvation would not have been made 
available unless it were needed in order to glorify God. 

Bishop Janps says, " A holy church would soon make 
a holy world. If the church were without spot or 
wrinkle, or any such thing, her light could not be hid. 
When the church puts on her entire strength, her 
influence must be triumphant in the world." 

Dr. Foster says, " Let the church attain to this ; let 



140 REASONS WHY EVERY CHRISTIAN 

Christians claim their privileges, and come up to the 
standard, and the world will be a speedy and easy 
conquest." 

3. A holy life is the happiest life you can live. 
Happiness is the quest of every human being ; but few 
find it, because but few are holy. Holiness and happi- 
ness are inseparable. By the unalterable decree of 
God, holiness and happiness go hand in hand. It is 
always joy in the Holy Ghost, and sometimes " joy 
unspeakable and full of glory." Wicked men axe 
unhappy, because they are unholy ; good men are 
happy, because they are holy. Holiness and happiness 
keep exact pace ; if you would be very happy, you 
must be very holy. Entire sanctification makes us 
more holy than when we were first converted, conse- 
quently makes us more happy. Would you bear in 
your bosom a constant heaven ? Seek holiness. Do 
you want to " rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, 
and in every thing give thanks " ? Seek holiness. 
" that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments ! 
Then had thy peace been like a river, and thy right- 
eousness as the waves of the sea." 

4. It is the safest life you can live. Indeed, there 
is no real safety any where else. When you were con- 
verted, and holiness began in its incipient state, you 
were proportionately safe ; but entire sanctification will 
make you more holy, and consequently more safe. It 
casts out all inbred sin, all bosom foes, and leaves the 
«oul free from all things unfriendly to piety. It con- 



SHOULD BE ENTIRELY SANCTIFIED. 141 

stitutes the safest possible position on probation ground. 
Can you be satisfied with any other than the safest 
way ? 

5. If holiness is not sought, there is the utmost danger 
of backsliding. There is no standing still in religion. 
Not to go forward is to go back. Israel could not stay 
on the borders of the promised land ; they had either 
to go over or measure their steps back into the wilder- 
ness. (See Sec. XVII.) 

6. You should be entirely sanctified because God 
desires it. " This is the will of God, even your sanc- 
tification." God is essentially, absolutely, unchange- 
ably, and transcendently holy. He infinitely loves 
holiness, and infinitely hates sin. He delights only in 
that which possesses his own nature, and bears his own 
image. He is the infinite model and source of holi- 
ness. He desires that all his creatures should be holy. 
" Because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy" 
" Thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beu- 
lah ; for the Lord delighteth in thee." Holiness is the 
grand object and aim of the gospel economy. For this 
purpose Christ died, the Holy Scriptures were given, 
the means of grace instituted, and the work and agency 
of the Holy Ghost furnished. 

7. You should seek holiness because it has in itself 
intrinsic excellence and glory. It brings a whole con- 
stellation of virtues into a single heart — perfect love, 
perfect faith, perfect humility, perfect patience, and 
perfect purity. Here are riches and honors, like the 



142 REASONS WHY EVERY CHRISTIAN 

source whence they emanate, glorious as heaven and 
lasting as eternity. These graces constitute the richest 
adornment of our nature. The garments of holiness 
are for glory and beauty. Will you seek purity ? 

8. Gratitude to God should lead you to seek holiness. 
Look at what he has done for you. When you were in 
your sins, he convicted, pardoned, and regenerated your 
unworthy soul. Should you not be as entire now in 
the service of God as you were in the service of the 
devil ? You are under infinite obligations of love and 
praise to God. He has given you- his Son, his Truth, 
and his Spirit. He has provided for you a seat in 
heaven, a robe of righteousness, a harp of gold, a croivn 
of glory, and a special place in the center of his eternal 
love. Will you seek purity ? 

9. The interests of the Redeemer's kingdom demand 
that you should be entirely sanctified to God. How can 
you glorify God fully without it ? The lives of Chris- 
tians are to be the practical exponents of the holy prin- 
ciples of Christ's spiritual kingdom. " Ye are the light 
of the world." Millions of sinners are perishing for 
want of a holy ministry and membership. For the 
want of entire sanctification, multitudes in both the 
ministry and membership do but little for God and 
the salvation of souls. 

10. You should be entirely sanctified, because the 
more holy you are in this world, the more glorious will 

BE YOUR REWARD IN THE WORLD TO COME. There will be 

different degrees of glory in heaven, because every man 



SHOULD BE ENTIRELY SANCTIFIED. 143 

will be rewarded according to his works. " There is 
one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, 
and another glory of the stars ; for one star differeth 
from another star in glory. So also in the resurrection 
oi the dead." Let us be made holy, that we may bo 
fit to work, and then let us work hard and wisely, that 
we may have a glorious reward. 

If Christian holiness will make you more happy 
render you safer and more useful, shield you from back- 
sliding, express your gratitude to God, and enable you 
to glorify him in a higher degree than you could pos- 
sibly do without it, you will feel it your indispensable 
duty to seek it, and not give up the pursuit until you 
obtain it. 

11. Let me close this question with the following, 
from the able pen of Dr. Foster : " Motives to holiness ! 
where shall we not go to find them ? What direction 
shall we take to elude them ? Are they not every 
where ? Do they not come down from the heavens, 
and spring up from the earth ? Do we not feel them 
within, ana ^ehold them without us ? Is there any 
thing that has a voice that does not preach it ? Nay, 
do not even mute and dumb things urge it, with silent 
but persuasive eloquence ? What is heaven but an 
eternal monument of its glory ? What is hell but a 
terrible and endless declaration of its necessity ? The 
happiness of the former and the anguish of the latter 
equally impress it upon the hearts of thoughtless mor- 
tals. Indeed, turn where we will, whether to time or 



144 PERFECT LOVE. 

eternity, to tlie throne or the abyss, a million arguments 
commend it to us, a million voices urge it upon us." 

Reader, we are approaching a holy God, a holy 
heaven, and a company of saints and angels who cry, 
" Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty ; heaven 
and earth are full of his glory." 



PERFECT LOVE. 145 

SECTION THIRTEENTH. 

MINISTERS SHOULD BE ENTIRELY SANCTIFIED. 

94. Is it not vastly important that every minister 
&i mid be entirely sanctified to God ? 

1. It is. Holiness is a prominent element of effi- 
ciency in the ministry. No other qualification will 
answer in its place. Talents, learning, and popularity, 
without holiness, will be " as sounding brass and a 
tinkling cymbal." Without it, the minister can neither 
preach, or pray, or live, as he should. There is a point, 
a strength, & fullness, an energy, and an unction, need- 
ed in the ministry which can not be obtained without 
holiness. It is our solemn conviction that it would be 
infinitely better for the church and the world, if every 
unsdnctified minister would suspend all effort in every 
other direction, till, " with strong crying and tears," he 
receive the cleansing baptism of the Holy Ghost. 

After the disciples received their great commission, 
they were repeatedly commanded to tarry in the city of 
Jerusalem until they -received power from on high. Al- 
though they had been under the immediate tuition of 
the Master himself, (which was better than any theo- 
logical school in the world,) yet they were not fit to 
preach and labor in the vineyard of Christ without 
u the promise of the Father" — the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost, the endoivment of power. 

u Perfect love casteth out fear," and ministers need 

13 



146 MINISTERS SHOULD BE 

it in order to be faithful to all classes, saints or sinners, 
in or out of the church of God. Perfect love makes 
fearless ministers. It enables them to labor in the 
strength of God with perfect freedom from all fear of 
the rich, the influential, or the wicked of their congre- 
gations. Through the teachings and power of the Holy 
Ghost, the manner of their preaching is " warning eve- 
ry man and teaching every man ; " the matter of theii 
preaching, " Christ in you the hope of glory ; '.' and the 
end of their preaching, " that they might present every 
man perfect in Christ Jesus" 

Every minister should obtain sufficient grace to be 
saved from the fear of man, and be filled with a rev- 
erential, filial fear of God. Ministers have trials aim 
temptations peculiar to themselves, and need the per- 
fect love of God to give them constant and complete 
victory over all their foes, and keep them from swerv- 
ing from the path of duty. Nothing but the power and 
dominion of grace in a pure heart can wholly save any 
man from being affected in his ministerial work by his 
pocket-book, his reputation^ or the frowns, or smiles, or 
praise of men. It requires perfect love to make us dead 
to all these things, arid keep our " eye single/' and 
" our whole body full of light." 

0, how very much every servant of Christ needs a 
clear witness of complete purity and perfect love, in 
order to the utmost efficiency*in the work of the minis- 
try. The importance of the work, its difficulties, and 
the fearful responsibilities involved, all demand the best 
possible moral preparation. The ministers of our holy 



ENTIRELY SANCTIFIED. 147 

religion should be sanctified, wholly, to a man. so as to 
stand in united solid phalanx against the combined 
powers of earth and hell. How strikingly Charles 
Wesley expresses this in the fallowing lines ! — 

" Stand then in his great might, 
With All his strength endued ; 
But take to arm you for the tight 
The panoply of God. 

" Leave no unguarded place, 
No weakness of the soul ; 
Take every virtue, every grace, 
And fortify the whole. 

" Indissolubly joined, 

To battle all proceed ; 
But arm yourselves with all the mind 
That was in Christ our head." 

What terrible, what glorious havoc such a body of holy 
i*><m would make in tearing down Satan's kingdom, and 
winning victories for Jesus ! The constant triumphs of 
such men fill heaven with joy, and hell with conster- 
nation. The great want of the church, the world, and 
the times, is a ministry filled with the fire, love, and 
power of the Holy Ghost. True, invincible, holy men 
of God. I pray the Lord to raise up and thrust out fifty 
thousand such during the next ten years. 

2. Dr. Jesse T. Peck says, " How can her ministers 
thoroughly and effectually ' show the house of Jacob her 
iniquities, and God's people their sins,' and lead them 
to the cleansing blood, while they are themselves nei- 
ther mad 3 ; perfect in love,' or ' groaning after it.' The 
tause of such lamentable weakness in these Heaven- 



148 MINISTERS SHOULD BE 

sanctioned efforts stands out as clear as the sun. Manj 
of us, to whose charge the work is solemnly committed,, 
are sanctified but in part ; and with deep solicitude, but 
strict fidelity, we must add, some of us seem content to 
remain so." 

8. President Mahan writes, " I must myself be led 
by the Great Shepherd into the ' green pastures, and be- 
side the still waters,' before I could lead the flock of 
God into the same blissful regions." 

How can a man be a safe pilot amid the rocks and shoals 
of a sea he has never traversed ? If ministers would suc- 
cessfully lead the children of God over into our spir- 
itual Canaan, they must first go over themselves and taste 
the sweets of that land "flowing with milk and honey." 

Dear brethren in the ministry ; allow an unworthy 
fellow-laborer to ask you in the language of another, 
" How can we expect to send the people ahead of us ? 
If we know the way better than they do, should not our 
superior knowledge be accompanied by a superior life ? 
Have not the people a right to expect it ? 0, let us go 
before them, and be able to say, Folloiv us, even as we 
follow Christ." 

4. Rev. Charles G. Finney says, " To me it seems 
very manifest that the great difference in ministers, in 
regard to their spiritual influence and usefulness, does 
not lie so much in their literary and scientific attain- 
ments as in the measure of the Holy Ghost which they 
enjoy. 

" A thousand times as much stress ought to be laid 
upon this part of a thorough preparation for the minis- 



ENTIRELY SANCTIFIED. 149 

try as has been. Until it is felt, acknowledged, and 
proclaimed upon the housetops, rung through our halls 
of science, and sounded forth in our theological semi- 
naries, that this is altogether an indispensable part of 
the preparation for the work of the ministry, we talk 
in vain and at random when we talk of the necessity of 
a thorough preparation and course of training. 

" I must confess that I am alarmed, grieved, and dis- 
tressed beyond expression, when so much stress is laid 
upon the necessity of mere human learning, and so lit- 
tle upon the necessity of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. 

u Of what use would ten thousand ministers be with- 
out being baptized with the Holy Ghost ? Ten thou- 
sand times ten thousand of them would be instrumen- 
tal neither in sanctifying the church nor in converting' 
the world." 

5. Dr. George Peck says, " How important is a holy 
ministry ! Well was the injunction given, ' Be ye clean 
that bear the vessels of the Lord.' The church will 
scarcely take a higher stand in religion than that which 
is occupied by the ministry. And the ministry ivill lead 
the flock on in paths of peace and holiness in the same 
proportion in which they are themselves possessed of the 
spirit of holiness." 

" The arguments that convince, and the words that 
burn, come from sanctified lips — come blazing from a 
heart itself on fire with the perfect love of God." 

6. Rev. Henry Smith wrote a long letter to Bishop 
/Vsbury after the Lord sanctified his soul ; the follow- 
ing is an extract : " Glory be to God in the highest, I 

13* 



150 MINISTERS SHOULD BE 

am unspeakably happy. The half respecting perfect 
love has never been, told me. 0, how I long for all 
Christians, Christian ministers in particular, to be made 
partakers of perfect love ! ... 0, if all our preachers 
enjoyed perfect love, how they would scatter the holy 
fire through the cities, towns, and country ! Our ene- 
mies themselves would be constrained to call the Meth- 
odists the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. The 
Lord grant you great success in stirring up the 



95. Does not the blessing of entire sanctification secure 
the best possible moral qualification to preach holiness ? 

It does. The experience of this blessing furnishes 
the power and impulse to preach any doctrine of the 
gospel, especially the doctrine of holiness. Such a 
minister can preach holiness, and say, " We speak that 
which we do know, and testify that which we have 
seen." With such, there will be no apologizing for de- 
laying to preach on the subject ; but the holy fire burn- 
ing within will flame out, and holiness will be preached 
and offered to all who " hunger and thirst after right- 
eousness." 

Before Henry Smith enjoyed the blessing, he preached 
it merely because it was in his creed. He says in a 
letter to Bishop Asbury, " When you, sir, was enforcing 
the necessity of preaching sanctification, ' not in a com** 
monplace way, but to feel the importance of it J it sunk 
deep into my heart ; for I knew I had been guilty of 
preaching sanctification merely because it was in mp 
creed" 



ENTIRELY SANCTIFIED. 151 

We fear Mr. Smith, has not been the only one w r ho 
has preached it merely because it was in his creed. It 
should be preached with a heart full of it. 

" Add to the present power of our ministry," says 
an able writer, " the full measure of that which our 
fathers had in the possession of the Holy Ghost in 
every sermon for the specific purpose of present con- 
viction of sin and the conversion of the sinner, and 
you add a hundred fold to their power. 

" Then with all your learning, with your heavy ord- 
nance, fire no longer cold shot, but thought red hot with 
the Holy Ghost ; teach and preach as though angels 
crowded your pulpit stairs and railings, waiting to car- 
ry the tidings home of the conversion of sinners. Then, 
as of old, souls will now be converted under the preach- 
ing of the word, and a universal awakening will bless 
the churches in which you labor." 

96. Wliat do you think the chief cause of so little 
preaching on this subject ? 

Undoubtedly it is because so few of the ministry en- 
joy it themselves. 

1. Dr. J. T. Peck says, " But there are reasons why 
holiness is not more faithfully preached.. It is hard to 
raise the stream higher than the fountain. It is hard 
to preach what we have never experienced, and the fear 
of the reproach, ' Physician, heal thyself,' we doubt not 
hinders many of us from charging home upon the mem- 
bers of the churches their remaining corruptions, their 
neglect of ' the blood ' that ' cleanseth from all sin/ and 



.152 MINISTERS SHOULD BE 

their exposure to apostasy and final ruin in conse- 
quence. 

" Every command to the disciples of Christ uttered 
by us from the word of God, ' Be ye holy,' would con- 
demn us ; every promise urged for the encouragement 
of seekers for the blessing, would excite the inquiry, 
Wliy does not the preacher lay hold of the promises ? 
Alas ! how many have been deterred from preaching a 
present, rich, and full salvation, by the terrors which 
these interrogatories have inspired ! 

" We can thus see how it is that we have so little 
preaching on the subject of holiness. The want of ex- 
perience renders it unpleasant to do it, and hard to do 
it truthfully and effectually" 

97. There is a want of harmony between the direc- 
tions which Mr. Wesley gave at successive periods of his 
public ministry in regard to preaching and professing 
holiness. How do you account for this ? 

Mr. Wesley's mind underwent some changes concern- 
ing Christian perfection during his early ministry. He 
had occasion to modify some expressions, and change 
his opinions somewhat several times before he became 
^ fully established in the doctrine. There was a great 
revival of holiness about 1760, and we have no reason 
to believe that his views changed at all after that time. 
He died in 1791. 

If Mr. Wesley had some misgivings in reference to 
preaching and professing holiness during his early min- 
istry, there was a change in his mind, and in his xsxqv* 



ENTIRELY SANCTIFIED. 153 

mature opinion urged the importance of both, without 
any misgivings, during many years. It is a common 
thing for those unfriendly to the cause of holiness to 
quote Mr. Wesley's early and abandoned views, which 
conflict somewhat with his mature and most reliable 
ants. 



V)4 HOLINESS MUST BE PREACHED. 

SECTION FOURTEENTH. 

HOLINESS MUST BE PREACHED. 

98. Should the doctrine and practice of Christian 
Holiness be faithfully preached ? 

1. Without hesitancy, I reply, this subject should re- 
ceive (as it demands) great prominence in all our min- 
isterial labors. While it should not be the only topic 
in our pulpit ministrations, it should be a prominent 
one. The apostle Paul states the great object of an 
established Christian ministry .to be " for the perfecting 
of the saints." In regard to his own labors, he says, 
" We warn every man, and teach every man, . . . that 
we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." 
The minister of Christ should give the doctrine and 
practice of holiness the same prominence the Bible 
gives it — no more, no less. 

Dr. Foster says, " It breathes in the prophecy, thun- 
ders in the law, murmurs in the narrative, whispers in 
the promises, supplicates in the prayers, sparkles in 
the poetry, resounds in the songs, speaks in the types, 
glows in the imagery, voices in the language, and burns 
in the spirit of the whole scheme, from the alpha to 
the omega, from its beginning to its end. Holiness ! 
holiness needed, holiness required, holiness offered, 
holiness attainable, holiness a present duty, a present 
privilege, a present enjoyment, — is the progress and 
completeness of its wondrous theme ! It is the truth 



HOLINESS MUST BE PREACHED. 155 

glowing all over, welling all through revelation — the 
glorious truth which sparkles, and whispers, and sings, 
and shouts, in all its history and biography, and poetry, 
and prophecy, and precept, and promise, and prayer — 

THE GREAT CENTRAL TRUTH OF THE SYSTEM." 

2. Rev. John Wesley says, " Therefore let all our 
preachers make a point to preach of perfection to be- 
lievers constantly, strongly, explicitly " . - . " I doubt 
not we are not explicit enough in speaking on full sane* 
tification, either in public or private" 

" I am afraid Christian perfection will be forgotten. 
Encourage Richard Blackwell and Mr. Oolley to speak 
plainly. A general faintness in this respect has fallen 
on the whole kingdom. Sometimes I seem almost 
weary of striving against the stream of both preachers 
and people." 

" Let us strongly and closely insist upon inward holi- 
ness in all its branches." . . . " We ought to be con- 
tinually pressing after it, and to exhort all others so 
to do." 

3. Dr. Adam Clarke says, " If the Methodists give up 
preaching entire sanctification they will soon lose their 
glory," . . . " This fitness, then, to appear before God, 
and thorough preparation for eternal glory, is what 
I plead for, pray * for, and heartily recommend to 
ill true believers, under the name of Christian per- 
c ection" 

" Let all those who retain the apostolic doctrine, that 
the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin in this life, 
press every believer to go on to perfection, and expect 



156 HOLINESS MUST BE PREACHED. 

to be saved, while here below, into the fullness of the 
blessing of the gospel of Christ." 

4. Dr. Jesse T. Peck says, " Holiness must be 
preached. God has appointed a ministry for that very 
purpose. ' He gave some apostles, and some prophets, 
and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 
for the perfecting of the saints,' &c." 

" The duty of ministers is plain ; to set the whole work 
of grace upon the heart, constantly and plainly, before 
the people ; ... to hold out, with the clearness of 
light, to the Israel of God, every where, the glorious 
privilege of perfect love, and urge it ; not as all the 
gospel, but the grand result sought in the gospel ; not 
merely as a privilege and a probability, but as a duty, 
as an attainment, which we are in danger of missing, 
and which is indispensable to our ultimate preserva- 
tion in the favor of God, and our introduction into 
heaven." 

5. Dr. Stephen Olin writes, " I trust the day is near 
when our church will bear a clearer testimony on this 
subject. It was the peculiarity of early Methodism. 
... I do not for a moment allow myself to doubt that 
the great plan of redemption provides for a perfect 
work here below. I can take no view of the gospel 
which tolerates lower views. I can wot preach the gos- 
pel in any other light." 

6. Bishop Asbury wrote to the Rev. Henry Smith, 
and closed his letter as follows : " Night comes on, 
and I will close with saying, ' Preach sanctif cation, 
directly and indirectly, in every sermon.'" He wrote to 



HOLINESS MUST BE PREACHED. 157 

another, " 0, purity ! 0, Christian perfection! 0, sanc- 
tification ! It is heaven below to feel all sin removed. 
Preach it, whether they will hear or forbear. Preach it. " 

During a season of sickness, he makes this record : 
" I have found, by secret search, that I have not 
preached sanctification as I should have done ; if I am 
restored, this shall be my theme more pointedly than 
ever, God being my helper." 

Again he says, " I am divinely impressed with a 
charge to preach sanctification in every sermon" 

Rev. J. B. Wakeley says, " Holiness was the constant 
theme of Bishop Whatcoat." 

7. Dr. Foster says, " Let the pulpit experience and 
teach this glorious privilege as a common part of their 
mission, and as it deserves to be taught, and a great 
evil will be obviated." 

8. Bishop McKendree wrote the following to the 
eloquent Summerfield : " But superior to all these, I 
trust you will aver keep in view, in all your ministra- 
tions, the great design which we believe God intended 
to accomplish in the world, in making us a 4 people- 
that were not a people ' — I mean the knowledge, not 
only of a free and a present, but also & full salvation ; 
in other words, a salvation from all sin unto all holi- 
ness. 

" Insist much on this ; build up the churches herein, 
and proclaim aloud, that ' without holiness no man shall 
see the Lord ; ' under the guidance of the Spirit of holi- 
ness, this doctrine will be acknowledged of God : 
1 signs will follow them that believe ' and press after 

14 



158 HOLINESS MUST BE PREACHED. 

this uttermost salvation, and our people will bear the 
mark of their high calling — become a holy nation, a 
peculiar people." 

9., The Rev. George Pickering, after fifty years in 
the ministry, in his semi-centennial sermon, exhorts his 
brethren to " preach to the people the blessed doctrine, 
of holiness ; " adding, " This is the only thing that will 
hold the Methodist church together." 

When on 'his dying bed, being visited by all the min- 
isters of Boston, grasping the hand of the brother who 
was acting as spokesman for the whole, he exclaimed, 
" Tell, 0, tell the brethren to preach Christ and him 
crucified, an all-able, all-powerful, all-willing, all-ready 
Saviour, a present Saviour, saving now. Preach, 4 Now 
is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.' O, 
tell them to preach holiness. Holiness is the principal 
thing. Preach holiness, holiness, HOLINESS ! God 
help you to preach holiness" Thus ended the dying 
charge of that holy man, George Pickering, of the New 
England Conference. 

10. The venerable Henry Smith, of the Baltimore 
Conference, writes, " My brother, is your soul fired 
with perfect love ? Preach perfection. It is the 
marrow of the gospel — food for a soul athirst for God. 
I am happy to inform you that I have seen preachers 
upon their knees, bathed in tears, for hours crying 
aloud for help from God against their inbred foes, and 
until, through faith, they got the victory." 

11. Rev. William Bramwell writes to a minister, 
" Preach a present salvation, and pray for present bless- 



HOLINESS MUST BE PREACHED. 159 

ings ; the Lord always prospers this plan. Preach 
sanctification as a blessing noiv to be received by faith." 

99. Is there not a serious lack on the part of the 
ministry in preaching on this subject ? 

1. There certainly is, and especially in the Meth- 
odist ministry, whose special work is " to spread scrip- 
tural holiness over these lands " We are compelled to 
believe there is much less prominence given to this 
subject in our ministry than there should be. There 
is a serious neglect among us in not adhering to the 
matured advice of our great founder under God. 
" Therefore all our preachers should make a point of 
preaching perfection to believers constantly, strong- 
ly, and explicitly ; and all believers should mind 
this one thing , and continually agonize for it." This 
direction was given by Mr. Wesley in his mature years, 
and after an experience in the gospel ministry un- 
equaled since the days of the apostles. 

2. Dr. Jesse T. Peck says, " We fear attention has 
not been called so distinctly and forcibly to the doctrine 
of holiness as it should have been. Sermons have gen- 
erally stopped short of it. Other fundamental doc- 
trines of the gospel have been allowed paramount at- 
tention." . . . " Alas ! the truth can not be denied. 
The great privilege and duty of present salvation from 
all sin is omitted in so large a number of sermons as to 
leave many in doubt whether there be ary such gospel, 
and grievous ty to discourage and mislead those whose 
spirits pant for full redemption." 



ItiO HOLINESS MUST BE PREACHED. 

How true in many places, at this day, the declara- 
tion of Mr. Wesley at one period of his ministry : " I 
find almost all our preachers, in every circuit, have 
done with Christian perfection. They say they believe 
it ; but they never preach it, or not once in a quarter ." 

100. Is the doctrine and experience of holiness the- 
great peculiarity of Methodism ? 

It was strikingly so in early Methodism, and is 
claimed to be so now by our leading writers. 

1. Mr. Wesley said, " It is the grand depositum which 
God has given to the people called Methodists; and 
chiefly to propagate this, it appears, God raised them 
up." . . . " God then thrust them out to raise a holy 
people" 

2. " We believe that God's design in raising up the 
preachers called Methodist in America was to reform 
the continent, and spread scriptural holiness over these 
lands." This statement has been subscribed by every 
Methodist bishop. 

3. The late lamented J. V. Watson says, " Holiness ! 
it is the ark of the Lord among our doctrinal ideas. 
... It is the very essence of our spiritual life, the 
vital artery of our whole system. It is the central sun 
around which the satellites all revolve in harmony, re- 
joicing in its brood, warm, genial, life-imparting smile. 
for holiness individually in the membership ! for 
a holy ministry ! Together they make an omnipotent 
church." 

4. Dr. George Peck says, in his able and standard work 



HOLINESS MUST BE PREACHED. 1G1 

on Christian perfection, " The doctrine of entire sancti* 
fication, as a distinct work wrought in the soul by the 
Holy Ghost, is the great distinguishing' doctrine of 
Methodism. This given up, and we have little left 
which we do not hold in common w r ith other evangeli- 
cal denominations." 

5. Dr. Adam Clarke says, "I know that people well 
in whose creed the doctrine of ' salvation from all sin in 
this life' is a prominent article" 

6. Mrs. H. A. Rogers gives an account of one of Mr. 
Wesley's sermons as follows : M He confined his dis- 
course to the particular doctrines committed to the 
Methodists, and insisted that the doctrine of Christian 
perfection was the one peculiar point they were called 
to preach and practice, and that no other people under 
heaven did clearly insist on this as a present and an in- 
stantaneous salvation ; that they who did not preach it, 
or believe it, were no Methodists" 

7. Mr. Carvosso says, " I can say it [holiness] is old 
and proved Methodism ; for on the 13th day of this 
month, (March, 1825,) it will be fifty-three years since 
I obtained the evidence in believing that the blood of 
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanseth from all sin." 

14* 



1)2 HOLINESS PREACHED 

SECTION FIFTEENTH. 

HOLINESS PREACHED IN EARLY METHODISM. 

1.01. Was the doctrine of Christian Perfection 
preached much in Mr. Wesley's day ? 

1. Mr. Wesley says, " If I were convinced that none 
in England had attained what has been so clearly and 
strongly preached by such a number of preachers, in so 
many places, and for so long a time, I should be clearly 
convinced that we had all mistaken the meaning of 
those scriptures." He says in another place, " I still 
think, to disbelieve all the professors amounts to a 
denial of the thing. For if there be no living wit- 
nesses of what we have preached for twenty years, I 
can not, dare not, preach it any longer." (See Sec* 
XXII. Ques. 177.) 

2. Mr. Bramwell says of his day, " They who had 
not received the blessing of justification were urged 
not to rest until they had obtained it, and they who 
were justified, not to rest until they were sanctified" 

3. Rev. William Hunter, one of Mr. Wesley's most 
useful preachers, says, " From the time the Lord gave 
me to experience this grace, I became an advocate for 
the gloriouS doctrine of Christian perfection, according 
to the light he had been pleased to give me. I bear a 
testimony of this wherever I go, and I never find my 
soul so happy as when I preach most upon the blessed 
subject" 



IN EARLY METHODISM. lt)3 

102. Hoiv did William Bramwell, one of Mr. 
Wesley's preachers, treat the subject of holiness in 
Ids ministry ? 

v His biographer tells us, " He unceasingly pressed 
upon his hearers the necessity of Christian holiness, 
and so preached this doctrine as to manifest he was 
himself habitually grounded and settled in the expe- 
rience of it. He raised the standard of Christian 
experience as high as the Scriptures do, and yet placed 
it within the reach of every justified person. He gave 
believers no rest till they sought with all the heart to be 
fully saved from sin. 

" On the entire destruction of sin, and the complete 
renewal of the heart in holiness, he preached decidedly. 
This was his constant, his favorite theme. To be 
cleansed from all sin, to be perfected in love, was the 
grand object of his preaching, and the constant experi- 
ence of his heart. Never did he preach with more 
energy, never did a greater divine unction attend his 
word, than when he pressed the Christian, the Meth- 
odist doctrine of entire, sanctification from all sin, the 
utter destruction of all inbred evil, and the restoration 
of the whole soul to the image of God." 

103. Did Mr. Bramwell find opposition in the 
church to his labors for the promotion of holiness ? 

He did, and often mentioned it in his journal. In 
writing to a preacher, he says, " Live in it, talk about 
it, preach it, and enforce it with all patience, with all 
mrekness, with all kindness; and if you do this, hell, 



154 HOLINESS PREACHED 

the world, and numbers among the Methodists, yea f 
some leaders, if not preachers, will in some artful way 
seek to hinder your success." 

104. Did the early Methodist preachers in this 
country make holiness a prominent item in their min- 
istry ? 

They did, and preached it clearly and powerfully all 
through the land ; such men as Bishop Asbury, Bishop 
McKendree, Bishop Hedding, Jesse Lee, George Pick- 
ering, Billy Hibbard, Freeborn Garrettson, and Benja- 
min Abbott. These men went proclaiming this doctrine 
all over the country. 

1. Father Kent, a leading member of the New Eng- 
land Conference for many years, wrote to the " Guide 
to Holiness " as follows : " I think the preachers, fifty 
or sixty years ago, were generally more particular 
in explaining the doctrine of holiness of heart, and 
more earnestly urged the necessity of going on unto 
perfection, than is the case among us at the present 
time." Dr. Olin says, " Preaching holiness was a pe- 
culiarity of early Methodism" 

2. The following are a few quotations from the jour- 
nal of an old and primitive Methodist preacher : "I 
Aen met the society, and impressed sanctification upon 
them. 7 ' " The work of the Lord went on among the 
people, and I continued to impress the necessity of 
sanctification upon believers." " I gave them a word 
of exhortation, and insisted on sanctification and holi- 
ness of heart." " I impressed sanctification on them • 



IN EARLY METHODISM. 165 

with all the power and ability that God had given me." 
" I met the class, and pressed them to seek sanctifica 
tion." 

" Since I have been a preacher, I have kept an account 
of two hundred and twenty-four souls that I have seen 
sanctified. When I rode Cecil circuit I saw thirty 
sanctified and forty-three justified." " In twelve weeks 
God sanctified about fifty, and justified many." See 
the opinion of the old New York Conference concern- 
ing this primitive Methodist preacher. (See Sec. X. 
Ques. 90.) 

3. The biographer of Bishop George says, " Holiness 
of heart and life, as inculcated by Mr. Wesley and his 
coadjutors, was his constant theme in public and pri- 
vate." 

4. Dr. Bangs says in his History of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, " The doctrine more especially 
urged upon believers [in early Methodism] was that 
of sanciification or holiness of heart and life, and this 
was pressed upon them as their present privilege, de- 
pending for its accomplishment now on the faithful- 
ness of God, who had promised to do it. It was this 
baptism of the Holy Ghost which fired and filled tho 
hearts of God's ministers at that time" 



[66 HOLINESS IDENTIFIED WITH THE 



SECTION SIXTEENTH. 

HOLINESS IDENTIFIED WITH THE PROMOTION 0> 
THE GENERAL WORK OF GOD. 

105, Is the promotion of the general work of God 
identified with the preaching and the promotion of holi- 
ness ? 

1. Mr. Wesley says, " I examined the society at Bris- 
tol, and was surprised to find fifty members fewer than 
I left in it last October. One reason is, Clwistian per- 
Jection has been little insisted on ; and wherever this is 
not done, be the preachers ever so eloquent, there is lit- 
tle increase, either in number or in the grace of the 
hearers." 

" I preached at Bradford, where the people are all 
alive. Many here have lately experienced the great 
salvation, and their zeal has been a general blessing. 
Indeed, this I always observe, wherever a work of sane- 
tification breaks out, the whole work of God prospers. 
Some are convinced of sin, others justified, and all 
stirred up to greater earnestness for salvation." 

" I found the plain reason why the work of God had 
gained no ground in this [Launceston] circuit all the 
year. The preachers had given up the Methodist testi- 
mony. Either they did not speak of perfection at all, 
{the 'peculiar doctrine committed to our trusty or they 
spoke of it only in general terms, without urging the 
believers to go on unto perfection, and to expect it 



PROMOTION OF THE WOItK OF GOD. 167 

every moment. And wherever this is not done, the 
work of God does not prosper." 

" Here began that glorious work of sanctification 
which had been nearly at a stand for twenty years. 
But from time to time it spread ; and wherever the 
work of sanctification increased, the whole work of God 
increased in all its branches" 

" The more I converse with the believers in Corn- 
w ill, the more I am convinced that they have sustained 
great loss for want of hearing the doctrine of Christian 
perfection clearly and strongly enforced. I see, wher- 
ever this is not done, the believers groiv dead and cold. 
Nor can this be prevented but by keeping up in them 
an hourly expectation of being perfected in love." 

u Where Christian perfection is not strongly and 
explicitly preached there is seldom any remarkable 
blessing from God ; and consequently little addition to 
the society, and little life in the members of it. There- 
fore if Jacob Rowell is grown faint, and says but little 
about it, do you supply his lack of service. Speak, 
and spare not. Let not regard for any man induce you 
to betray the truth of God. Till you press the believ- 
ers to expect full salvation now, you must not look for 
any revival." 

U I hope brother C. is not ashamed to preach full 
salvation, receivable now by faith. This is the word 
which God will always bless, and xohich the devil 
peculiarly hates ; therefore he is constantly stirring 
up both his own children and the weak children of 
God against it." 



3 68 HOLINESS IDENTIFIED WITH THE 

Mr. Wesley wrote to Freeborn Garrettson, " The 
more explicitly and strongly you press all believers to 
aspire after full sanctiftcation as attainable now, by 
simple faith, the more the whole work of God will 
prosper" 

2. Dr. Olin says, " For nearly the last half century 
little has been said about it in this country. Now the 
doctrine is reviving again. With it will come many 
blessings — great poiver and grace." 

3. Rev. J. V. Watson says, " We have often known 
revivals of religion to commence under the preaching of 
holiness ; and though there is a diversity of operations, 
and the officiating minister must be the judge of what 
is most fitting in the case, yet we have always consid- 
ered it a safe place to begin." 

4. Bishop McKendree said to Summerfield, " Never 
forget that no doctrine which we have ever preached 
lias been more owned by the Head of the Church; and 
I doubt not the success of your mission may mainly 
depend upon your zealously holding forth this great 
salvation." 

5. Dr. Jesse T. Peck says, " The work of God 
strengthens and revives, and sinners are saved by 
scores and hundreds by the living power of perfect 
love." 

6. Rev. William Bramwell writes to Mr. Sigston, 
" But I am certain the doctrine of entire sanctifica- 
tion is upon the decline ; and if it is not enforced there 
will follow a declension in the work among the people 
I do not see how this is to be restored among us ; be* 



PROMOTION OF THE WORK OF GOD. 169 

cause the greater part of the persons in authority, aris- 
ing from riches, &c, are much averse to this in their 
minds. And as the number of such authorities in- 
creases the doctrine will decrease ; and this from fear 
of displeasing such authorities. Here the glory is 
departing, and, I fear, will depart. We have to pray 
that the number of those may be increased who boldly, 
as at the first, declare the whole counsel of God." 

7. Lady Maxwell says, " A full salvation has this last 
year been more insisted on in public, which has an- 
swered valuable purposes" Again she writes, a The 
peculiar privilege of God's children has been more in- 
sisted on in public this last year than formerly here ; 
of consequence they increase who seek it, both in num- 
bers and grace. May our God raise up many witnesses 
of it." 

8. Dr. Stevens, in his " History of Methodism," says 
of the early Methodist preachers, " Every one of them, 
at his reception into the traveling ministry, avowed his 
belief in the doctrine, and that he was 4 groaning' after,' 9 
if he had not already attained, this exalted grace. 
Perhaps no single fact affords a better explanation, of 
the marvelous success of Methodism. 

" Wesley observed and declared that wherever it was 
preached revivals usually prevailed. < It is,' he said, 
' the grand depositum which God has given to the peo- 
ple called Methodist, and chiefly to propagate this, it 
appears, God raised them up. Their mission was not 
to form a religious party, but to spread holiness over 
fhest lands? The doctrine of personal sanctification 

15 



170 HOLINESS IDENTIFIED WITH THE 

was, in fine, the great potential idea of Methodism. ,? 
. . . " These holy men, in making an entire publio 
sacrifice of themselves, did so as a part of an entire 
consecration to God, for the purpose of their own entire 
sanctiflcation, as well as their usefulness to others." 

9. A modern writer says, " Those men, in all ages, 
who believed in the doctrine of entire sanctification 
in this life, enjoyed it, preached it, lived it, and wit 
nessed it, by every thought, look, word, action, held 
on to it definitely, publicly, and practically, were the 
men of the times." ... a So in the days of Wesley, 
Fletcher, Carvosso, Lady Maxwell. Mark, also, the 
labors of brother Caughey, the revivalist. Why are 
thousands on thousands born into the kingdom annu- 
ally through his instrumentality, blessed of God, filled 
with the Holy Spirit ? The truth is, he pours in the 
liquid flame of full salvation, the burning lava of this 
gospel grace. ' Holiness to the Lord ' is written on 
his banner. ' Come out from among them, be ye 
separate, and touch not the unclean thing,' is brought 
home with the sledge-hammer of omnipotent bearing. 

" Look, moreover, at Dr. Palmer, and his consecrated 
wife. What are they doing ? Mark their footsteps ! 
Satan trembles, falls as lightning at their approach. 
Wherever they go, God is with them, to bless, convert, 
purify, and sanctify. What is the secret of their un- 
paralleled success ? The doctrine of holiness is first, 
midst, ]ast, always. They believe it, profess it, enjoy it, 
live it, publish it. God owns it in the awakening, con- 
verting, and sanctifying of thousands on thousands." 



PROMOTION OF THE WORK OF GOD. 171 

10. The following is from the pastoral address of 
the O-eneral Conference of 1840 : — 

" The doctrine of entire sanctification constitutes a 
leading feature of original Methodism. But let us not 
suppose it enough to have it in our standards ; let us 
labor to have the experience and the power of it in our 
hearts. Be assured, brethren, that if our influence and 
usefulness, as a religious community, depend upon one 
thing more than any other, it is upon our carrying out 
the great doctrine of sanctification in our life and con- 
versation. When we fail to do this, then shall we lose 
our preeminence ; and the halo of glory which sur- 
rounded the heads and lit up the path of our sainted 
fathers, will havi departed from their unworthy sons. 
brethren, let your motto be, ' Holiness to ths 
Lord/ " 



172 RESULTS OF NOT 

SECTION SEVENTEENTH. 

•RESULTS OF NOT SEEKING HOLINESS. 

108. Wliat are the results of neglect to seek holi- 
ness ? 

1. It affords fearful advantage to the great enemy , 
the devil. He comes to enslave the soul with fear, to 
inflate it with pride, to inspire it with the love of the 
world, to inflame its lusts, to excite to anger, to obscure 
the path of duty, and induce rebellion against God. In 
the soul but partially sanctified Satan finds some ten- 
dency, more or less, to unbelief, to fear, to pride, to 
covetousness, to lust, and, indeed, to every sin. The 
seed of all sin is yet in the heart. What a fearful 
advantage is thus allowed to the enemy ! 

2. It lays the foundation for frequent defeat in spir- 
itual conflicts. Sinning and repenting, rising and fall- 
ing, are prominent 'characteristics of those who refuse 
to seek the blessing of holiness. How truthfully does 
this familiar stanza describe the lives of multitudes of 
converted men ! — 

" Here I repent, and sin again ; 
Now I revive, and now am slain — 
Slain with that same unhappy dart 
Which, O, too often wounds my heart." 

Dr. Jesse T. Peck says, " We are compelled to de- 
clare that, in our honest judgment, there are few cases 
of only partial sanctification in which every single 



SEEKING HOLINESS. 17? 

day does not make bitter work for repentance. . . „ 
How many, through the influence of remaining deprav- 
ity, have been betrayed into angry passions, into vanity, 
wide, and unbridled lusts ! How many have gradually 
yielded to the suggestions of an evil heart, and found, 
at length, that their strength was lost, their confidence 
gone, their Saviour grieved, and their souls brought 
into bitter condemnation ! " 

3. It is the origin of those grievous apostasies which 
have dishonored the church and ruined souls. 

1. Dr. J. T. Peck writes as follows : " Can there be 
any question of this ? Who, that believes in the pos- 
sibility of either temporary or final apostasy, could 
suggest a mode of backsliding more effectual, more 
inevitable, than to allow the sinful propensities of our 
nature to remain undisturbed — to disobey the great 
law of progress, which is revealed as sacredly binding 
upon every converted man ? " 

2. Dr. George Peck says, " Leaving ' first principles,' 
and going on to perfection, is the only way to be secure 
against final and total apostasy. ... If, then, we do not 
wisli to end in the flesh, to fall from grace, to lose our 
first love, to be deprived of the talent committed to us, 
to have the candlestick removed out of its place, and 
finally to be cast into outer darkness, we must leave 
the tilings which are behind, and go forward to those 
which are before. ... It is our only security against 
utter apostasy, the dismal gulf of infidelity, and the pit 
of hell. 

" If we resist or. neglect it, we are guilty of disobe 

15 * 



174 THE RESULTS OP NOT 

dicnce; we contract guilt, and come into condemnation. 
What, then, is the condition of those Christians who do 
not seek at all the entire sanctification which God re- 
quires ? Are they doing the will of God ? Let all 
concerned lay their hand upon their heart, and decide 
this question according to truth and evidence. I must 
not be understood to say that all who are not entirely 
sanctified are in a state of damning sin : this sentiment 
I have explicitly and honestly disavowed on a former 
occasion. 

" But what I do mean is, that those Christians who 
do not seek, and seek constantly, for an entirely sanc- 
tified nature, fall into condemnation. And I may 
add that this condemnation must be removed by pardon, 
upon repentance, or it will finally ' drown the soul in 
destruction and perdition.' " 

3. Rev. Timothy Merritt says, " If Christians would 
not backslide, and bring a reproach upon the cause of 
Christ, they must go on to perfection. There is no 
medium between going forward and drawing back. 
As soon as any one ceases to press forward, he declines 
in spiritual life." 

4. Professor Finney says, " No man can be a Christian 
who does not sincerely desire it, and who does not 
constantly aim at it. No man is a friend of God who 
can acquiesce in a state of sin, and who is satisfied and 
contented that he is not holy as God is holy." 

5. Mr. Wesley's views are presented by Dr. Peck 
as follows : " We must either be in possession of this 
high state of grace, or be pressing after it, if wa 



SEEKING HOLINESS. 17o 

would retain the favor of God, and be certain of 
heaven." 

6. President Mahan gives you his views on this sub- 
lect, in his work on Christian Perfection, thus : " Wo 
are also prepared to account for a melancholy fact 
which characterizes different stages of the experience 
of the great mass of Christians. From the evangelical 
simplicity of their first love, they pass into a state of 
legal bondage ; and, after a fruitless struggle of vain 
resolutions with ' the world, the flesh, and the devil,' 
they appear to descend into a kind of Antinomian 
death." 

7. We are fully convinced that a neglect on the part 
of regenerated souls to seek perfect holiness, or entire 
sanctification, is a more fruitful occasion of losing the 
witness of justification, and of backsliding, than all 
other causes combined. Indeed, it includes, virtually, 
all other causes. The witness of a justified state can 
no more be retained without seeking holiness, than a 
witness of entire sanctification or holiness can be re- 
tained without a further and constant growth in grace 
and knowledge of the truth. 

The very conditions upon which a state of justifica- 
tion is retained inevitably lead to Christian purity. 
The same holds true of the conditions of retaining a 
state of perfect love — .they are those by which the soul 
is to grow and mature in holiness. 

A violation of the conditions of increase and growth in 
holiness forfeits the state of holiness itself. The way 
for a regenerated soul to obtain the blessing of perfect 



lYti THE RESULTS OP NOT 

love is to abide closely by the conditions of retaining 
his justification. If he does, he will soon, very soon, 
get into the fountain, and come out pure through the 
blood of the Lamb. 

If we are not mistaken, a soul can not retain the clear 
light of justification long without being led into a 
knowledge of its need of being cleansed from heartfelt 
impurity, into an entire and unreserved submission of all 
to God, and to a simple, present trust in the merits and 
blood of Christ for present redemption. Glory to God ! 
Here, like millions of others, it will taste the sweets 
of the perfect love of Jesus. * Doubting, fearing pro- 
fessor, will you not make a trial ? The Lord help you 
to decide rightly this moment. 

4. It is the opinion of many good men that the 
church is sadly backslidden on account of not seeking 1 
holiness, 

1. Dr. J. T. Peck asks, " Is it not true that the large 
majority of real Christians are yet without it ? — that, in 
consequence of its neglect, the church is loaded with a 
body of death filled with backsliders, and comparatively 
powerless for the great purpose to which she is ordained 
of Heaven ? . . . 

" How many thousands have been slain by harbored 
inward foes, which have seemed to be harmless ! Wliat 
a mass of backsliders there are now in the church, for 
the very reason that they have been satisfied without 
going on unto perfection ! " 

2. President Mahan says, " We see the reason of the 
aspect of living death which the church now presents 



SEEKING HOLINESS. 177 

to the world. It is simply this : she is in a state of 
unbelief in respect to the nature and extent of the 
provisions and promises of divine grace." 

3. Dr. Foster says, " To say that the church is now 
living, and from the time of the beginning has been 
living, beneath her privilege, below her mission, would 
certainly be but a mild and moderate, though humil- 
iating, utterance of the conviction of Christendom." 

4. Pious Dr. Doddridge says, " To allow yourself 
deliberately to sit down satisfied with any imperfect 
attainments in religion, and to look upon a more con- 
firmed and improved state of it as what you do not 
desire, nay, as what you secretly resolve that you will 
not pursue, is one of the most fatal signs we can well 
imagine that you are an entire stranger to the first 
principles of it." 

5. How true in our day is the following graphic de- 
scription of the church as given by Dr. Adam Clarke 
in his day ! — " Many preachers, and multitudes of 
professing people, are studious to find out how many 
imperfections and infidelities, and how much inward 
sinfulness, are consistent with a safe state of religion ; 
but how few, very few, are bringing out the fair gospel 
standard to try the hight of the members of the church, 
whether they be fit for the heavenly army, whether 
their stature be such as qualifies them for the ranks 
of the church militant ! ' The measure of the stature 
of the fullness ' is seldom seen ; the measure of the 
stature of littleness, dwarfishness, and emptiness is often 
exhibited." 



178 PERFECT LOVE. 

5. A neglect of seeking' holiness lays the foundation 
for a spirit of opposition to holiness. 

It is usually the case that those persons who have 
been repeatedly convicted of their need of holiness, and 
of their duty to seek it, and who have refused to do it, 
or who have put forth at times a few slight efforts to 
obtain it, and then have relapsed into indifference upon 
the subject, become its worst enemies. They become- 
displeased with those who faithfully preach it, and dis 
like to hear it personally professed. This is the natural 
result of neglecting duty, and of grieving the Holy 
Spirit of God. They become opposed to holiness be- 
cause holiness is opposed to them. Sinners who pursue 
a similar course in regard to regeneration, experience 
similar results. 



TRIALS OF THE SANCTIFIED. 179 

SECTION EIGHTEENTH. 

TRIALS OF THE SANCTIFIED. 

107. Wliat class of trials are sanctified souls pe- 
culiarly subject to ? 

1. They are often powerfully tempted to withhold a 
profession of the blessing. (See a quotation from Fletch- 
er, Sec. X. Ques. 78.) Messrs. Bramwell, Stoner, Car- 
vosso, Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers, Rev. Asa Kent, and a 
multitude of others were severely tempted in this re- 
gard. 

2. The faith of the sanctified soul will be subject to 
severe trials. This is the direct point of union between 
the sanctified soul and Christ. This vital point will be 
early and artfully assailed. They are tempted to doubt 
whether they are sanctified wholly. Mr. Wesley says, 
" We find there is very frequently ,a kind of wilderness 
state, not only after justification, but even after deliver- 
ance from sin. The most frequent cause of this sec- 
ond darkness or distress, I believe, is evil reasoning. 
If this be the cause, is there any way to regain that de- 
liverance bijt by resuming your confidence ? " 

Sanctified souls are often tempted to believe the cause 
of experimental holiness will not succeed. They are 
often tempted to be quiet, and not give holiness much 
prominence. 

3. Their charity will be tried. If there is any state 
out of heaven, in which the Christian heart is filled 



£80 TRIALS OF THE SANCTIFIED. 

with charity, it is that of entire sanctification ; and yet 
this very charity is subject to severe trials. Indiffer- 
ence, ignorance, and opposition to holiness in professors 
of religion will try their* Christian charity. Dr. Jesse 
T. Peck says, " There is opposition to holiness of which 
its professors must become the direct objects." 

Mr. Wesley said, " Those who love God with all their 
hearts must expect most opposition from professors who 
have gone on for twenty years in an old beaten track, 
and fancy they are wiser than all the world ; these al- 
ways OPPOSE SANCTIFICATION MOST." 

4. Their patience will be tried. In this world of sin 
this Christian grace must be severely tried. The rash- 
ness of friends and the violence of foes will attack it. 
Enfeebled and irritable nerves will try it. Unreason- 
able provocations from friends or enemies will try it. 
A thousand nameless ills will put it to a thorough test. 
0, how needful the inspired direction, " In your patience 
possess ye your souls ! " 

5. Their Christi&n firmness will be tried. This world 
is no friend to holiness ; and multitudes, even in the 
church, through ignorance and prejudice, or the want 
of salvation, are unfriendly to holiness as a blessing 
distinct from regeneration, and will oppose any who 
preach or profess it. The wholly sanctified will have 
their firmness tried by neglect, indifference, opposition, 
and persecution. 0, how many have entered the path 
of holiness, and, for the want of firmness, finally have 
abandoned it ! There is a powerful opposition to holi 
ness in the world, and to some extent in the church ; and 



TRIALS OP THE SANCTIFIED. ISt 

this opposition the friends of holiness have got to meet. 
Just in proportion as Christians dissent from the fash- 
ionable sins of the world, and the lifeless formalism in 
the church, they will provoke opposition. 

6. Their fidelity to God and man will be tried. They 
are in danger of compromising with the world, and of 
losing their aversion to sin. Christians are to bear a 
decided and unflinching testimony against all sin, wher- 
ever it may be found, either in or out of the church. 
Jesse T. Peck says, " To give even an implied approval 
or consent to the indifference or opposition of the church 
or individual, to the experience and spread of holiness, 
would bring evil upon your own conscience which you 
would be unable to bear." 

Every trial of the Christian tests his character, and 
helps him to ascertain how much real, solid worth, or 
gold, he has. 

108. What are the best helps to growth in grace ? 

" The best helps to growth in grace are the ill usage, 
the affronts, and the crosses which befall us." — Wesley. 

A greater than Wesley says, " For which cause we 
faint not ; but though our outward man perish, yet the 
inward man is renewed day by day. For our light af- 
fliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a, far 
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." There- 
fore, " If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be 
ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf" 

16 



182 HOW PERFECT LOVE 

SECTION NINETEENTH. 

HOW A STATE OE ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION MAY BB 
RETAINED. 

109. How may a state of entire sanctification be 
retained ? 

There are many who once enjoyed the blessing of 
perfect love who have now lost it. Some have received 
it several times, and, after all, are now without it. The 
conditions of retaining perfect love (like the conditions 
of retaining justification) are the same as those by 
which it was obtained ; namely, a complete submission of 
the soul to God up to its present light, and simple faith 
in Christ for present salvation. 

This submission and faith , graduated by increasing 
light and grace, must continue through life if perfect 
love be retained. 

1. In order to retain the witness of the Spirit, ana 
continue in the light of purity, you must confess it. 

" For with the heart man believeth unto righteous 
ness, and with the mouth confession is made unto sal- 
vation." The fear of man often hinders people from 
confessing. This fear, which brings a snare, must be 
overcome. Many have resisted the Holy Spirit when 
they ought to have confessed the blessing ; and by doing 
so, they have lost it. Confessing entire sanctification 
does not exalt self; no, it humbles the soul, and gives 
glo?y to God. The call for clear witnesses and specific 



MAY BE RETAINED. 1S3 

testimony for holiness is more imperative in some places 
lhaii in others, as in many places the witnesses for 
perfect love are very scarce and greatly needed. (See 
Sec. X.) 

2. To keep it, you must maintain a continuous, entire 
consecration. 

" The altar sanctifieth the gift ; " and it is only when 
our all is upon the altar of consecration that we can be 
in a state of sanctification. No part of the price can 
ever be taken back if we would retain the witness of 
perfect love. Your consecration must be complete, up 
to your present light and duty, through all your life ; 
and you will have occasion to watch yourself, and guard 
this point thoroughly. Any failure here will be direct- 
ly against you. Keep, I pray you, all on the altar. 

3. To keep full salvation, you must continue to be- 
lieve. 

" We stand by faith." " The just shall live by faith." 
We are " kept by the power of God, through faith, unto 
salvation." As soon as people give up believing, they 
presently lose the blessing ; it is no wonder, for " we 
stand by faith." Sanctified Paul said, " The life which 
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of 
God." Faith is the vital bond between the renovated 
soul and God. By it we are to abide in Christ, as the 
branch abides in the vine. 

Lady Maxwell says, " The Lord teaches me that it is 
by simple faith alone that I can either obtain, retain, or 
increase with regard to any gospel blessing." 

A. To keep it you must live constantly in the spirit of 
self-denial. 



184 HOW PERFE&T LOYE 

We must deny ourselves of every thing sinful, and 
also of every thing doubtful. " And he that doubteth 
is damned [condemned] if he eat, because he eateth 
not of faith ; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." 
Thousands have fallen by lawful things. It is not ex- 
pedient for a sanctified soul to indulge in every gratifi- 
cation which is not expressly forbidden in Scripture. 
We are to " abstain from all appearance of evil" 

5. To keep a clean heart you must live in the spirit 
of watchfulness constantly. 

Said Jesus, " What I say unto you, I say unto all, 
Watch." Watch over your heart, and keep it " with 
all diligence." Watch over your lips, and be jealous 
of your tongue ; and guard against a light and trifling 
spirit, by which multitudes have fallen into darkness 
and ruin. Watch for seasons of prayer and special 
communion with God. Watch for opportunities of 
doing and for receiving good. Watch against the al- 
lurements of the world, and against every thing that is 
sensual, and has a tendency to lull the soul to sleep. 
Watch against temptations, and resist them in a mo^ 
ment — steadfast in the faith. " Be sober, be vigilant , 
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, 
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." 

6. To keep it you must be faithful to the teachings 
and drawings of the Holy Ghost. 

" For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they 
are the sons of God." We must follow the Spirit of 
God, let consequences be what they may. The Holy 
Spirit will remind you of duty ; you must instantly 



MAY BE RETAINED, 186 

obey. The Spirit is very easily grieved, and you must 
promptly attend to all his teachings, or you may in a 
moment forfeit full redemption. His chosen emblem 
is the tender dove ; and it will take its flight if its gen 
tie monitions are not heeded. 

7. To keep it you must read the Holy Scriptures 
daily. 

The word of God is the voice of the Spirit. It is 
grieve'd when the truth is neglected or slighted. The 
Bible is soul-food. Perfect love will require some food 
every day. If you do not feed it with Bible truth it 
will die. Holiness furnishes a strong appetite for spir- 
itual aliment. Those who have been the clearest in 
perfect love are those who have paid the greatest atten- 
tion and deference to the word of God. The Bible is 
a well of living water ; you will need to draw water 
daily out of this well of salvation ; you can never drink 
it dry. The Bible is your chart and compass^ and you 
will have occasion to examine it daily. 

8. To keep the blessing of perfect love you must con- 
stantly aim at growing in grace. 

There is no standing still in religion. If we are not 
advancing we are retrograding. Many people have lost 
the blessing by not pressing after a greater fullness. 
Christian holiness secures the best possible preparation 
for growth in grace ; and there are hights, and depths, 
and lengths, and breadths of the love of God, to which 
we must be constantly aspiring. If we do not press 
after them, we shall be likely to go backward, and lose 
what we have before attained. 

16* 



186 HOW PERFECT LOVE 

John Wesley wrote to Adam Clarke, " Last week 1 
had an excellent letter from Mrs. Pawson, a glorious 
witness of full salvation, showing how impossible it is 
to retain pure love without growing therein." 

9. To keep it, you must live constantly under a sense 
of the presence of God. 

Always remember, " Thou, God, seest me." You are 
watched and seen every moment by an eye a million 
times keener than the eyes of angels ; that awful eye 
is the eye of God. if you knew that a legion of angels 
were watching you every moment, how carefully you 
would stand on your guard, and take care to act aright! 
O, remember you are in God's immediate presence 
constantly, and his guarding eye will keep you safe. 

10. To keep it, you must lead a life of prayer. 

You must be a man of prayer. Pray early in the 
morning, and, if possible, remain on your knees for 
thirty minutes. This will prepare you for the day. 
Pray often, and then prayer will become a delight. 
Stay with God in prayer — stay until he melts you, 
and then stay when you are melted ; and plead with 
God, and he will answer, and you will get changed, and 
transformed, and renewed. 

11. To keep it, you must labor hard for the salvation 
of sinners. 

It is the nature of perfect love to lead you to long 
tor the salvation of souls ; and if you do not go out 
with God for the salvation of men, your love will cool 
down into apathy and indifference, and you will lose 
the evidence of entire sanctificatiou altogether When 



MAY BE RETAINED. 187 

your heart yearns over sinners, go to God and pray, 
and go to sinners with manly sympathy, and you will 
find it an excellent means of grace to your soul. It 
will be a holy oil that will anoint you. 

Mr. Wesley says, " One great means of retaining 
what God has given is to labor to bring others into this 
grace, and to profess it to all mankind" 

12. To keep it, you must oppose sin of every name 
and kind, without any compromise. 

Like your Lord, you are to show it no quarter, at any 
time, or any where, either in or out of the church. In 
respect to sin and holiness, it is eternally true that 
"No man can serve tivo masters ." You must know no 
exceptions, either in high places or in low places, in 
great things or little things, among enemies ox friends. 
Your duty is plain — " Abstain from all attearancb 



158 OBJECTIONS TO SEEKING 

SECTION TWENTIETH. 

OBJECTIONS TO SEEKING PERFECT LOVE. 

110. Wliat course do multitudes of professors of 
religion pursue in regard to Christian holiness? 

They pursue the same course in regard to seeking 
holiness that sinners do in regard to justification ; they 
neglect it, and endeavor to justify themselves in so 
doing by various excuses. There is a striking similar- 
ity between the excuses presented by the sinner for not 
seeking religion and those made by professors for not 
seeking holiness, 

111. Will you present some of these excuses, with 
a reply to them ? 

1. "I am not clear in my views of the blessing of 
holiness" 

You are clear that God requires it ; that he has 
made provision for it ; that he promises it ; that you 
need it ; and that the church needs it. The sinner 
can present the same excuse as a reason why he does 
not seek regeneration. You would say to the sinner 
uist what I have said to you. The sinner knows 
enough in regard to religion and himself to see that 
it is both his privilege and duty to seek it. The Chris- 
tian knows enough, through the light of justifying 
grace, to see that he ought to be cleansed from all 
sin, and love God with all his heart. 



PERFECT LOVE. 189 

Jesus says, " If any man will do Ms will, he shall 
know of the doctrine" (See Sec. IY.) 

2. "i regard entire sanctification a great blessings 
and impossible for me to obtain" 

That it is a great thing I gladly admit. But have 
you not a great Saviour ? Did he not die to secure 
great results ? Can he not save to the uttermost ? Are 
not the provisions of the gospel ample, mighty, and di- 
vine ? Your fall has been a great fall. Your sins 
have been great sins. But where sin has abounded 
can not grace much more abound ? Jesus says, " All 
things are possible to him that believeth." Do you 
believe it ? The sinner will present the same excuse — 
" It is a great thing to be a Christian." What will you 
say to the sinner in reply to this pretense ? 

All the requirements of God are based on man's 
ability through grace. " My grace is sufficient" (See 
Sec. XXII. Ques. 136.) 

3. "If I should attempt to seek it, I am fearful I 
should fail" 

Does the Bible encourage any such idea ? Do you 
make the Bible, or your imagination, the rule of your 
faith and practice ? Is not such unbelief sin before 
God, and fearful evidence of your need of holiness ? 
What harm would it do you to seek it if you should 
fail ? Will not earnest efforts to secure a pure heart be 
attended with happy effects upon your Christian char 
acter, even though you should fail to obtain a clear 
witness of entire sanctification ? Sinners make the same 
excuse in regard to seeking religion. What reply would 



190 OBJECTIONS TO SEEKING 

you make to them ? Take the reply to yourself that 
you would make to them, and you will have an an- 
swer to this objection. 

4. " I see things in persons professing holiness which 
are not right" 

This I will not deny, although you may misjudge or 
may lack charity. Is the abuse of any thing an argu- 
ment against it ? Admitting this to be true, is it not 
a good reason why you should possess entire sanctifica- 
tion, and "let your light shine," and disabuse the 
minds of men in regard to this precious doctrine ? Do 
not sinners say the same thing in regard to justifica- 
tion ? Will you justify them in not seeking religion on 
this account ? 

5. "Many who have professed this blessing have 
given no evidence of possessing it." 

* The sinner can say the same thing in regard to jus- 
tification. Will you justify the sinner on this ground 
for neglecting to seek religion ? What would you say 
to your impenitent child who should say the same thing 
to you as a reason for not becoming pious ? Does this 
objection relieve your case at all ? What has this or 
any other excuse to do with your solemn duty to God, 
as presented in the Scriptures ? God says, " Be ye 
holy, for I am holy." Possibly, when you have ob- 
tained the blessing, you may have more charity for 
its professors. 

fi. "Many have obtained it and lost it, and some have 
lost it several times ; and I am fearful I should lose it " 

Lot the sinner put the same excuse in your teeth as 



PERFECT LOVE. 191 

a reason for not seeking justification, and what will you 
say? Paul says, " Happy is he that condemneth not 
himself in that thing which he alloweth." Is the fact 
that good men have become vicious a reason why baa 
men should not become -good? 

Dr. Jesse T. Peck says, " The future is to give you 
no concern, for it is not yours. You may never meet 
the cares and trials which your mind would naturally 
suggest. You may be in heaven before the day of trib- 
ulation comes ; and if not, your safety is with Him to 
whom you have committed your all." 

7. " I have but little feeling on the subject." 

Is it any wonder, in view of the manner in which 
you have treated it ? Is not this want of feeling upon 
the subject evidence that you have lost your justifica- 
tion ? It certainly is. Every justified soul is panting 
for purity. (See Sec. XXII. Ques. 127.) 

What will you reply to a sinner who assigns this rea- 
son for not seeking salvation ? Is not his excuse as 
good as yours ? (See Sec. VIII. Ques. 50.) 

8. " If I seek holiness I shall have to change my busi- 
ness and give up many of my habits" 

If your business and your habits are wrong, yot* w r ill 
have to change them or lose your soul. But if you are 
aone<st in this objection, you are not in a justified state, 
and cod sequently have no religion at all. You can not 
retain a state of justification one hour, and indulge in 
any thing you know to be wrong. " Therefore to him 
that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is 
Bin ; " and " He that committelh sin is of the devil? 



192 OBJECTIONS TO SEEKING 

The sinner will make the same excuse. Will you tell 
him that he can get religion and not give up all ? There 
is an awful wile of the devil in this objection, which I 
fear has caught millions. (See Sec. III. Ques. 13.) 

9. " The inconsistencies and- indiscretions of some of 
the professed friends of holiness have prejudiced my 
mind against it." 

What ! will you let the folly of mortals prejudice your 
mind against holiness ? — against that which is god- 
like, and the most lovely and excellent of all the moral 
elements in the universe — against that which cost the 
blood of God's only Son — against that which consti- 
tutes the only preparation for the society of angels and 
of God ? What an evidence of your depravity, and of 
the necessity of your being cleansed from all sin ! 

Sinners, who meet with one hypocrite in the church, 
often come to think that the most of professors are hyp- 
ocrites. Perhaps your case may be similar in regard 
to the professors of perfect love. What have the faults 
or sins of men to do with your obligations to yourself 
to the world, to the church, and to God ? Sinners will 
present the same excuse for neglecting Christ. 

10. " If I should obtain the blessing of entire sanctiftr 
cation, I should he obliged to do many duties which I 
Slim now excusing myself from" 

With such an excuse from your lips, have you any 
right to the name of a Christian ? Thousands of sinners 
present this very excuse for not seeking salvation. Arc 
you any better than they ? What right have you to 
choose to do a part of God's will, and refuse to do a 



PERFECT LOVE. 193 

part ?. Listen ! " Not every one that saith unto me, 
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; 
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in 
heaven." Without submission to God, justification can 
neither be obtained nor retained. It is lost the moment 
there is any known rebellion against God. (See Sec. 
TIL Ques. 13.) 

11. " I believe in a gradual growth in religion." 
This is right, and is every way identified with your 

entire sanctification. If you mean by it, however, that 
you are expecting to secure a state of entire sanctifi- 
cation by growth in grace merely, you are seriously 
mistaken. (See Sec. VII.) * Holiness lays the foun- 
dation for a thrifty, permanent, and rapid growth in 
grace. (See Sec. IV. Ques. 25.) By neglecting to seek 
holiness, growth in grace is often rendered impossible. 
(See Sec. XVII.) 

12. " I am fearful that insisting on holiness will tear 
the church in pieces." 

Never, no, never ! It is sin that separates, mutilates, 
and destroys. Holiness unites, consolidates, and saves. 
Holiness is the bulwark of the church. Without it, 
the union of the church is but little better than a rope 
of sand. If there are those in the church who are 
opposed to holiness, they are sadly out of ti.^ir place ; 
for the church of God is no place for such people, 
and would be infinitely better off without them. The 
dead, backslidden professors in the church who oppose 
holiness, are the persons who tear the church in pieces. 

VS. "If 1 seek entire sanctification, and live it, and 

17 



194 PERFECT LOVE. 

profess it, I shall become singular and conspicuous, and 
he made the subject of much talk" 

People talk about you now. They talk about your 
coldness and dwarf shness, and what a miserable speci- 
men of a Christian you are. If you must be talked 
about, would you not rather people would talk about 
your holy singularity and religious enthusiasm, than to 
talk about you as they now do ? Mr. Wesley says, you 
must be singular or you must be damned. Christians 
are to be separate from the world, and are to let their 
light shine, like a city on a hill which can not be hid. 

14. " I have not been justified or regenerated long 
enough to warrant my seeking entire sanctification" 

Paul wrote to the Thessalonian converts, (Jieathen con- 
verts^) who were not six months old, " This is the vnll of 
God, even your sanctification" God says to you, " Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." " Be 
ye therefore perfect." " Be ye holy, for I am holy." 
And St. Paul says, " Leaving therefore the princi- 
ples, [the first rudiments']. of the doctrine of Christ, let 
us go on unto perfection." God does not tell you that 
you have not been justified long enough to obey these 
commands, or to expect this great salvation. The fact 
is, the longer you delay the more your difficulties will 
increase. Your evil propensities will increase their 
strength and take deeper root, and you will be likely to 
contract habits of reasoning and doubting which you 
will find very difficult to overcome. (See 'Sec. VI.) 



« ADVICE TO PROFESSORS OF HOLINESS. 196 

SECTION TWENTf-FIRST. 

ADVICE 10 THOSE PROFESSING PERFECT LOVE. 

112. Wliat advice would you give those professing 
holiness ? 

1. Keep up a daily, or rather a perpetual, consecra- 
tion of all to God. Search and surrender, and re-search 
and surrender again, and keep every vestige of self 
upon the altar under the consuming, sin-destroying 
flame. Sanctification can not exist a moment with- 
out keeping all upon the altar. " Submit yourselves, 
therefore, to God" 

2. Remember the life of the Christian is a life of 
faith. You were justified by faith, you were sanctified 
by faith, and you must stand by faith. There must be 
a continuous act of faith. The faith of the sanctified 
soul becomes in a sense a state of his mind — a habi- 
tude of his soul. You must give up all idea of resist- 
ing temptation, or of acceptably performing any service 
for Christ, by the mere force of your own resolutions. 
This is to be your victory, " even your faith." " The 
life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of 
the Son of God." 

3. You must acquire the habit of living by the min- 
ute. Take care of the present moment. Trust in God 
now; do God's will now; do not offend God noio. 
You are to act for the future ; but act by the minute. 
" Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing, by prayer 



196 ADVICE TO THOSE 

and supplication ,■ with thanksgiving, let your requests 
be made knoivn unto God" 

4. Live in the constant use of all the ordinary and 
instituted means of grace — prayer, meditation, study- 
ing the Scriptures, the sacrament. " They that wait 
upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall 
mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not 
be weary ; and they shall walk, and not faint." 

5. Do all you do in the name of the Lord Jesus, and 
to the glory of God. The Saviour expects you to eat, 
drink, dress, spend your time, talents, and property, 
and transact your business, with reference to the same 
objects for which you pray, read your Bible, and wor- 
ship God. " Whether, therefore, ye eat, or drink, or 
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" 

6. Avoid sinful lightness and levity on the one hand, 
or moroseness on the other. Be cheerful, but not friv- 
olous and vain; sorrowful, but not sour or gloomy. 
Maintain the dignity, the purity, and the sanctity of 
the Christian character. " Be sober, grave, temperate, 
sound in faith, in charity." 

7. Cultivate the deepest reverence in your ap- 
proaches and addresses to God. Never allow your- 
self to use light or irreverent expressions of God, or 
of his great work, however joyful or ecstatic you may 
be. You are " a temple of the Holy Ghost ; " therefore 
be careful, and walk softly before God. " I am the 
almighty God ; walk before me, and be thou perfect" 

8. Study the Bible. Be a Bible Christian. Let youi 
holiness be a Bible holiness in theory, in experience, 



PROFESSING PERFECT LOVE. 197 

and in practice. Make your honesty ', justice, veracity, 
and self-denial harmonize with the teaching of the Bi- 
ble. Avoid encouraging others, or seeking yourself, 
any mystical experience not explicitly taught in the 
Bible. Be satisfied with increasing love, power, and 
communion with God, and avoid all those mystical 
things, and unscriptural isms, which have wrought dis- 
astrously against the doctrine of holiness. "Search 
the Scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal 
life:' 

" Blessed Bible ! how I love it ! 
How it doth my bosom cheer ! 
What hath earth like this to covet ? 
O, what stores of wealth are here ! 

" Yes, sweet Bible ! I will hide thee 
Deep, yes, deeper in this heart ; 
Thou through all my life wilt guide me, 
And in death we will not part." 

9. Redeem your time. Imitate the example of 
Christ ; rise early in the morning, and while others are 
slumbering around you, pray, " search the Scriptures" 
and commune with God. Make every day, hour, mo- 
ment, tell upon your best interests and the cause of 
God ; " redeeming- the time, because the days are evil." 

10. Acquire the habit of constantly watching against 
sin. The tempter is a vigilant and insidious foe, ever 
on the alert, and full of artifice. In an unguarded 
moment you may lose what has cost you years of toil, 
and what you may never be able to regain. " There- 
fore let us not sleep, as do others ; but let us watch, 
and be sober" 

17* 



198 ADVICE TO THOSE 

11. You must absolutely refuse to comply with 
temptation, under any circumstances, or to any degree. 
In the greatest temptations a resolute No, and a single 
look to Christ, will suffice to overcome the wicked one. 
In the strength of God you must say No to the tempt- 
er every time. Be careful, and distinguish between 
temptation and sin. 

1. A sinful impression, or suggestion, resisted till it 
disappears, is temptation, and only temptation — not sin. 

2. A sinful suggestion, courted or tolerated, or at 
length complied with, is sin. " Resist the devil, and 
he will flee from you" 

12. Endeavor to preserve a perfect consistency be- 
tween your profession and practice. Your profession 
will raise reasonable expectations which you must 
meet. Be exemplary in all things. Be careful about 
small matters, and " abstain from all appearance of 
evil." Mr. Wesley says, " He that neglects little 
things shall fall little by little" "I, therefore, the 
prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy 
of the vocation wherewith ye are called." 

13. Be sure that your profession of holiness is vindi- 
cated in your life by all " the fruit of the Spirit." As 
it can not be taken simply upon its own strength, it will 
go for nothing without " the fruit of the Spirit." " The 
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, 
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." 

14. Be careful how you consider impulses and im- 
pressions as the teachings of the Spirit. We are to be 
14 led by the Spirit,' but it is principally by its illumi- 



PROFESSING PERFECT LOVE. 199 

nations. The man who is led by the Spirit is filled, 
not with impulses and impressions, but with light. At 
least, never allow any impulse to lead you to anj? 
course not in perfect harmony with the Bible. 

Mr. Wesley says, u Some charge their own imagina- 
tions on the will of God, and that not ivritten, but 
impressed on their hearts. If these impressions be 
received as the rule of action, instead of the written 
ivord, I know nothing so picked or absurd but that 
we may fall into, and that without remedy." " For as 
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons 
of God." 

15. Read the best writers on sanctification. "We 
mention Wesley, Fletcher, Mahan, Finney, Drs. 
George and Jesse T. Feck, Foster, McDonald, Lady 
Maxwell, and Mrs. Phoebe Palmer, ." Guide to Holi- 
ness,' 7 and " Beauty of Holiness." But the blessed 
Bible should be first, last, always, " Give attendance 
to reading, to exhortation, to doctrin§." 

16. Do not let the adversary lead you to dwell upoi 
some one subject, to the exclusion of others, such a& 
faith, dress, pride, formality, slavery, &c. Make no 
hobby of any one thing in particular, but of a symmet- 
rical holiness in general. Follow the Bible ; it has no 
hobby but holiness. 

17. Be careful and not disparage the blessing of jus- 
tification. This is univittingly d[)ne sometimes, and 
is fruitful of injurious results. Justifying grace is 
always to be highly prized, and should never be 
depreciated. " Walking in all the commandments 



200 ADVICE TO THOSE 

and ordinances of the Lord blameless." (See Sec. 
XXIII.) 

18. Avoid an unwarrantable extreme in allowing 
this one subject to become entirely absorbing. The fol- 
lowing are some of the indications' of this extreme : — 

i. A disrelish for any other theme, or the accessories 
of holiness. 

2. A desire to avoid hearing those discourses which 
dwell upon other Bible topics. 

3. A conscious aversion to that experience which 
falls short of the highest gospel standard. 

4. A distrust in the religion of those who make no 
special efforts for the promotion of holiness. 

5. Feelings of inaptitude and disqualification for labor 
that aims directly for the conversion of souls. " TJiat 
ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, 
being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in 
the knoivledge of God." 

19. In the profession of holiness avoid all ostenta- 
tion, display, and affectation. Let your testimony be 
artless, simple, easy; let it exalt Christ, and humble 
you. Cultivate a due sense of your unworthiness, and 
let every thought, and look, and word, partake of the 
spirit of lowliness. " Let your speech be always with 
grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye 
ought to answer every man" 

20. Do not seek to be conspicuous. Seek no promi- 
nence for your learning, talents, piety, person, or pos- 
sessions. Avoid all display ; keep a single eye. Your 
great business is to glorify God. Let your dress admin 



PROFESSING PERFECT LOVE. 201 

ister to your comfort, convenience, decency, and mod- 
esty. "Be clothed with humility ; for God resisleth the 
proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble your- 
selves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he 
may exalt you in due time." 

21. On the other hand, do not (through a desire to 
avoid being conspicuous) neglect to " stand up for Je- 
sus." Wesley says, " Your holiness will make you 
as conspicuous as the sun in the midst of heaven." 
While on the one hand you are not to seek it, on 
the other, do not think you can avoid it. " Ye are 
the light of the world." A holy, active, zealous lover 
of God and man will be seen of men. Stand up 
for God ; speak, pray, and live to please him. " Let 
us go forth, therefore, unto him without the camp, bear- 
ing his reproach." 

22. Avoid all evil speaking. Never talk about the 
faults of an absent person. We are encompassed by 
this sin on every side, and are in great danger of being 
carried away by the torrent. Watch over your lips, 
and " speak evil of no man." "Speak not evil one of 
another, brethren." 

23. Do not allow yourself to talk much about the 
opposition you meet with from ministers and Chris- 
tians. Do not pray for yourself or others as if you or 
they were persecuted. Especially, do not this in pub- 
lic. Do not suffer your mind to dwell upon the oppo- 
sition you meet with, lest you should be " overcome of 
evil." u Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things 
are honest, whatsoever things are just, ivhatsoever thing* 



202 ADVICE TO THOSE 

are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever 
things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and 
if there be any praise, think on these things" 

24. Avoid a censorious, fault-finding spirit. Thifj 
will sour and ruin your soul. You may grieve, but 
never fret. You may sorrow over the condition of 
things, but do not scold. While you must be plain, 
truthful, and searching, yet be patient, kind, and for- 
bearing. " Warn them that are unruly ; comfort the 
feeble-minded; support the weak; be patient toward 
all men" 

25. Be careful to treat with the utmost kindness 
those who have not reached this exalted state. Do not 
fall out with them on account of .their dullness to learn 
or their slowness to believe, and seek for holiness. 
Avoid all tartness of expression, and all undue sever- 
ity, even though they should contradict and cavil. 
Have patience, and be not discouraged. " We, then y 
that are strong, ought to bear the infirmities of the 
weak, and not to please ourselves." 

26. Learn to account in the most charitable manner 
for the opposition you meet with. Consider how long 
you were in bondage to sin and a slave of prejudice. 
Remember, the opposition you suffer may originate in 
mistake or misapprehension on the part of your oppo- 
sers. Put the best and most charitable construction 
Upon every thing. " Charity suffer eth long, and is kind, 
. . . seeketh not her oivn, . . . thinketh no evil, . . . bear- 
eth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, 
endureth all things" 



PROFESSING PERFECT LOYE. 203 

27. Never withdraw from the church to which you 
belong, because of any opposition you may meet with 
in it. In the church is the very place for you to let 
your light shine and work for God. Do not separate 
yourself from those who are in the dark in respect 
to this glorious doctrine. It is true, if you " stand 
up for Jesus," and profess holiness in some of our 
popular, proud, formal churches, you will find but 
little sympathy, and may have to stand alone. Ac- 
cording to your day, so shall your strength be. Re- 
member, all heaven is in sympathy with holiness. 
Live in the church ; do your whole duty in the right 
spirit and at a proper time ; and if you are excommu- 
nicated, as some have been, let the responsibility be 
with others, and not with you. " And ye shall be hated 
of all men for my name's sake ; but he that endureth to 
the end shall be saved" 

28. Avoid controversy. Few persons can engage 
in it without sooner or later getting into a bad spirit. 
Avoid becoming excited and getting into a scolding 
and vociferous manner of speaking. Avoid all sweep- 
ing condemnations in speaking of the church. " The 
% ervant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto 
ill men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing 

mo se that oppose themselves, if God pcradventure will 
give them repentance to the acknowledging of the 
truth, ' 



204 MISCELLANEOUS. 

SECTION TWENTY-SECOND. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

113. What was the distinguishing- character of tk$ 
great Wesley an reformation ? 

"The Wesley an reformation was eminently a move- 
ment in favor of holiness. The true doctrine of Chris- 
tian perfection was, perhaps, more clearly taught and 
poiverfully enforced than at any former time since the 
days of primitive purity. And while the great mass 
of converts made it their aim, large numbers passed on 
to the actual experience and living demonstration of 
the power of Christ to cleanse from all sin. And mark 
the result : ' No weapon formed against them could 
prevail.' From the feeblest beginnings, without wealth, 
without power, in the midst of the most violent perse- 
cutions, they have moved on in a career of usefulness 
unparalleled since the days of the apostles." — J. T. 
Peck, D.D. 

114. What is the great essential iv ant of the church 
noiv ? 

We believe the great present want of the church is a 
mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost, in the entire sane- 
tif cation of a million believers. This would give the 
church a clear spiritual vision, and an omnipotent^ 
moral power, and send her on in her glorious mission 
of reforming this continent, and " spr earing scripturaJ 
holiness over these lands " 



MISCELLANEOUS. 205 

The church has numbers, ^wealth, talents, and influ 
nice ; but she needs something more than these — the 
power of the Holy Ghost, the gospel preached in the 
demonstration of the Spirit — the holy anointing from 

H EAVEN. 

115. Should not the fact, that but a small part of the 
church is cleansed from all sin be cause of alarm to 
Christians ? 

Yes ; and it is so to all whose eyes and hearts are 
awake to this fact. 

Dr. J. T. Peck says, " Verily, the mere suspicion that 
the mass of Christians are sanctified but in part, ought 
to rouse the spirit of inquiry throughout the length 
and breadth of Zion ; and the positive knowledge of the 
fact ought to enlist the sympathies and engage the 
energies of the church, till we can say, in truth 
and holy triumph, Christians generally are sanctified 
wholly." 

116. Is not the church subject to many and great 
dangers ? 

She is, and in view of it needs holiness as a coat of 
mail and a strong tower, to secure her safety. She 
las frightful dangers in her outward prosperity. She 
has dangers in her accumulation of wealth and num- 
bers, and in her increasing popular and secular pow- 
er. And unless her purity and moral power are kept 
clear and strong, she will inevitably meet with sad and 
deplorable reverses. 

18 



206 MISCELLANEOUS. 

The Methodist church is in great danger of drifting 
away from her primitive simplicity, spirituality :, and 
healthful discipline. It is believed by many that while 
she is increasing in numbers, and becoming wealthy 
and popular, there are sad and unmistakable evidences 
that ill many places she is losing her original zeal % 
sacrificing spirit, and spiritual power. 

When the Methodist church, or any other church, 
relies for her success upon any thing but deep, vital, 
and practical godliness, she will inevitably fail in 
accomplishing her great mission. Numbers, wealth, 
learning, position, or popularity, can never supply the 
place of piety. This is indispensable, and it must be 
first, last, and always. 

117. Why is it that so feiv enjoy this blessing 
among the Methodists who profess to believe it a Bible 
doctrine, and attainable ? 

1. One reason is, because so many in the ministry 
fail to obtain it themselves, and consequently fail to 
preach it.clearly, explicitly, and strongly to the church. 
In many places it is not preached at all. In other 
places but one or two sermons a year are preached spe- 
cifically upon the subject ; and in but very few places 
are believers constantly urged to " mind this one thing, 
and continually agonize for it." (See Sec. XIII.) 

2. William Bramwell says, " The reason why the 
Methodists in general do not live in this salvation is, there 
are too much sleep, too much meat and drink, too little 
fasting and self-denial, too much conversation with the 



MISCELLANEOUS. 207 

world, too much preaching and hearing, and too littlo 
self-examination and prayer." 

118. Does perfect love cast out all slavish fear ? 

It does. " He that fear xth is not made perfect in 
love." Perfect love brings out more fully and clearly 
the evidences of our regeneration, justification, and 
salvation. It enables the soul to realize more nearly 
and fully the presence and blessedness of' Christ. It 
gives the great, vital, comforting truth of God a more 
direct access and power upon the heart than it can 
otherwise have. 

It excludes all those warring elements from the un- 
sanctified heart, which excite distressing and slavish 
fear. It detaches the affections from all forbidden 
objects, and destroys all relish for carnal and worldly 
things. It imparts holy impulses, excites heavenly 
aspirations, and draws the soul into intense hungerings 
and thirstings after God. It destroys sin, the sting of 
death, and gives the departing soul triumph in the 
hour of dissolving nature. Under its gracious power 
vast multitudes have 

" Rejoiced and sung with their last breath, 
Saved from their every fear ; 
For Jesus died and conquered death, 
The dying saint to cheer." 

119. Does not the presentation of entire sanctifica- 
tion as a distinct work disparage the work of histifica- 
Hon and regeneration ? 

No ; when it is intelligently and properly presented it 



203 MISCELLANEOUS. 

does not. Rev. W. McDonald says, "If sanctification, 
as taught in our standards of Christian doctrine, be 
true, it should be preached, if it should disparage other 
doctrines. But this is not the case. Justification is 
no more disparaged by a faithful presentation of sanc- 
tification, than is sanctification by an exclusive pre- 
sentation of justification. 

" It is no disparagement of a foundation that the 
superstructure is more highly prized, when it is clearly 
understood that the superstructure derives much of its 
permanency from the foundation on which it rests. 

" So with justification and sanctification. It is no 
disparagement of justification that sanctification oc- 
cupies a place in religious experience that God never 
assigned to justification. The one is to the other what 
the foundation is to the superstructure — what the al- 
phabet is to the language. Sanctification completes 
what justification so gloriously begins, as the super- 
structure completes what was so well begun with the 
foundation." 

120. Is not the " ivay of holiness" very narrow, 
and therefore difficult to walk in ? 

1. We answer, the " way of holiness " is certainly a 
narrow way. 

2. The " way of holiness " has its peculiar difficul 
ties in the form of trials, struggles, and crosses. 

3. We think, however, that it is less difficult to live 
in a state of entire sanctification, than to walk in the 
light of justification, and retain a momentary witness 



MISCELLANEOUS. 209 

of the Spirit. The merely^ regenerated soul has less 
light and less strength than the sanctified one. The 
merely regenerated has bosom foes — enemies and 
traitors at home. He has the remains of pride, unbelief, 
inward corruptions, and various lusts, in addition to hia 
outward foes. The sanctified soul has no bosom foes, 
his armor is complete, his light is clear, and his faith is 
strong. Holiness affords the best possible vantage 
ground for the soul, and a position of the greatest 
security out of heaven. 

4. The way of justification is not a broad way. 
There is no broad way in religion. A man can not 
live in any state of grace without keeping consecrated 
to God up to his light, and a justified state can not be 
retained in the commission of any known sin, or in the 
neglect of any known duty. 

5. Can not a man live religious, do the will of God, 
and travel to heaven easier with a pure, good heart, 
full of light, power, and love, than with less religion 
and an unsanctified heart ? Judge ye ! 

" Come, O my Joshua, bring me in ; 
Cast out thy foe, the inbred sin ; 

The carnal mind remove ; 
The purchase of thy death divide ; 
And O, with all the sanctified 

Give me a lot of love." 

121. How, and for what purpose, are we to be filled 
mth the Holy Ghost ? 

1. We must receive it as a candle receives the light 
— to scatter surrounding darkness, to shine upon the 

18* 



210 MISCELLANEOUS. 

mind, illuminate the soul, and impart a knowledge 
of divine things. u But the Comforter :, which is tho 
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, 
he shall teach you all things" 

2. We must receive the Holy Ghost as iron re- 
ceives heat. It penetrates, fills, softens, and purifies 
it. It fits it for any impression desired to be made 
upon it. Thus we are to receive the Holy Ghost and 
be penetrated, filled, softened, purified, sealed, and 
stamped with the divine image. We are to be filled 
with it as the branch is filled with the juice of the 
vine, or as the body is filled with the vital fluid of 
life. " Be filled with the Spirit." 

3. We are to receive the Holy Ghost as the stomach 
receives food. It takes it in, and distributes it through 
the blood, flesh, bones, hair, and the whole system. 
The Holy Ghost is to quicken, invigorate, and infuse a 
spiritual life through every part of the soul. Read- 
er, " have you received the Holy Ghost since you 
believed? " 

We read in the Scriptures of being " anointed with 
the Holy Ghost," of " the comfort of the Holy Ghost," 
of " the joy of the Holy Ghost," of " the communion 
of the Holy Ghost," of " the power of the' Holy Ghost," 
rf being " filled with the Holy Ghost," of being " sane 
Hfied by the Holy Ghost," of " praying in the Holy 
Ihost," and of being " temples of the Holy Ghost." 

122, What do you understand by a present salvation 
from all sin ? 



MISCELLANEOUS. 211 

1. " We mean by being saved, first, from all outward 
sin — all violations of the requirements of the law of 
love which relate to our outward conduct. 

2. il And, secondly, from all inward sin — all viola- 
tions of the law of love which relate to the intellect, the 
sensibilities, and the willP — G. Peck, D. D. 

123. How are sanctified souls to be distinguished 
from those not entirely sanctified ? 

By being more deeply humble ; by greater simplicity 
and sweetness of spirit ; by greater strength of faith, 
and by living more " soberly, righteously, and godly 
in this present world ; " in short, by being more like 
Christ. 

1 24. What has become of the inward sins and foes 
of those entirely sanctified ? 

They have not only been conquered, but slain and 
exterminated. In the sanctified soul sin is not merely 
conquered or chained, but is cast out. The soul is 
cleansed, so that when the devil comes he finds nothing 
in it but what is in harmony with the will of God. The 
Saviour said, " Satan cometh, and hath nothing in me." 
And, " As he is, so are we in this world." 

125. Does not the profession of holiness as a distinct 
blessing- naturally produce jealousy and discord among 
brethren ? 

Not if it is professed in suitable words, in a proper 
manner, and in the right spirit. A proper profession 



212 MISCELLANEOUS. 

will produce no jealousy or discord among real Chris- 
tians. It may among a class of backsliders, and deaa 
or doubtful professors. Mr. Wesley says, " Nor does 
any thing under heaven more quicken the desires of 
those who are justified, than to converse with those whom 
they believe to have experienced a still higher salvation" 

126. Is there not great danger of professing this 
blessing when it is not possessed ? 

There may be some danger of it, but not any more, if 
as much, as there is in regard to justification. We think 
there is more danger of not acknowledging all that God 
does for us, than of professing more than he has really 
wrought in us. While some may have professed this 
blessing when destitute of it, many have doubtless lost 
it through a neglect of its acknowledgment, fearing a 
humble profession of it. (See Sec. X. Ques. 78.) 

127. Does a state of justification involve a desire to 
be holy ? 

It does. If a man is a Christian, and in a justified 
state, he will have the heart of a child of God, and de- 
sire to render to him a present, full, and unreserved 
obedience. This is implied in the very nature of true 
religion. 

Dr. Jesse T. Peck £ays, " Regeneration in its lowest 
state loves holiness, and pants to be filled with it." 

Mr. Caughey says, " A hearty desire for purity is the 
brightest gem that sparkles in real justification. If it 
be genuine this desire is always attached to it — as 



MISCELLANEOUS. 213 

weight to lead, as heat to fire, as fragrance to the rose, 
as greenness to a healthy leaf — inseparable." 

128. Is it not often objected to professors of holiness 
that they indulge in censor iousness ? 

It is, and we doubt not it always will be, so long as 
there are so many worldly, formal, backslidden pro- 
fessors in the church. We do not deny that some may 
have given an occasion for this objection ; but let any 
Christian, in the ministry or laity, do his whole duty to 
the church and the world in their present state, — let him 
speak to them and of them as they really are, — and he 
would of course incur the charge of censoriousness. 
Who suffered more of this than Mr. Wesley ? 

Rev. Charles G. Finney says, " Entire sanctification 
implies the doing of all our duty. But to do all our 
duty we must rebuke sin in high places and in low 
places. Can this be done with all needed severity with- 
out, in many cases, giving offense, and incurring the 
charge of censoriousness ? No, it is impossible ; and to 
maintain the contrary, would be to impeach the wisdom 
and holiness of Jesus Christ himself." . 

With some people it is a common thing if a brother 
has not " charity" enough to apologize for sin, and cover 
up the " works of the devil," to charge him with " cen- 
soriousness," " sour godliness," &c. There can be no 
holiness which has no rebuke for sin, or opposition to 
Satan. Look at the Great Exemplar — the Son of God 
Look at Rev. John Wesley ; who ever suffered more of 
this kind of abuse than he ? The Spirit of God and the 



214 MISCELLANEOUS. 

spirit of the world can never harmonize ; they are per* 
feet antagonisms. 

129. Who are the best friends of the church ? 

Those who have the most of the Spirit of Christ, and 
who, under God, do the most to lead sinners to seek 
pardon, and believers to seek purity. He who loves the 
church most, other circumstances being equal, will do 
the most for her, and will watch over her purity, useful- 
ness, and interests with the deepest godly jealousy. Her 
true friends will never heal the hurt of the daughters of 
her people slightly. 

To be faithful to the church, and point out her duties, 
her faults, and her dangers, is one of the strongest evi- 
dences of love for her. " He who tells me my faults is 
my friend." To faithfully point out the duties, defects* 
and sins of the church, is very far from " stabbing," 
" bleeding," or "abusing" the church, as some appear 
to believe. 

A time-serving, temporizing man, who seeks more to 
please men and make the church popular with the world, 
than he does to lead sinners to God and believers on to 
holiness, is very far from being the b°st friend of the 
church. And the minister who maintains a strict fidel- 
ity to God, and who, like Wesley and his coadjutors, 
deals faithfully (though kindly) with the church and the 
world, and gives sin of every kind, either in or out of 
the church, no quarter, is very far from being an enemy 
of the church. 

The worst enemies the church has are some within 



MISCELLANEOUS. 215 

her own pale. A compromising, self-seeking, worldly 
minded, backslidden minister will do more to run dovjn 
her piety, kill off her converts, and scatter spiritual deso- 
lation through all her borders, than all her enemies from 
without combined. 

Robert Hall says, " False pkophets care onlf to 
please ; " and Bishop George says, " A temporizing 



130. Are there tvjo kinds of holiness among men, 
one a sweet, loving, peaceful holiness, and the other a 
fighting one ? 

Holiness is the same in kind in God, angels, and men. 
It invariably secures a peace, a meekness, and a love as 
siveet as heaven. But these very elements make men 
hate the devil, and oppose sin vrith all their might. Per- 
fect love makes its possessor as meek as a lamb and as 
bold as a lion. While it inspires love and gentleness^ it 
teaches an uncompromising opposition to all unright- 
eousness. It makes its possessor a burning, shining, 
loving, fighting, conquering soldier of Christ. 

They said the meek and lowly Jesus had a devil. 
John Wesley was accused incessantly, for years, of 
being heady, loillful, self conceited, censorious, and big 
oted. He could be led by a hair in the right direc- 
tion, but all the combined powers of earth and hell 
could not move him an inch contrary to his honest con- 
victions of duty. The devil found John Wesley a hard 
case to manage, and would to God that we had more 
of his stamp in the ministry. 



216 MISCELLANEOUS. 

If standing up straight for God, and loving all h$ 
loves, hating all he hates, and opposing all sin, either in 
or out of the church, constitutes a fighting Christian, I 
hope to live and die one. Let it not be understood, 
however, that we favor the use of any carnal weapons 
'u this warfare. 

131. Why do the entirely sanctified still need the 
merits of the atonement ? • 

1. Their best services are so unworthy as to be ac- 
ceptable only when offered in the name of Christ. 

2. The entirely sanctified are sensible of numberless 
frailties and deficiencies, which render the atoning blood 
constantly necessary. 

3. Holiness is the result of abiding' in Christ. The 
sanctified soul retains its purity by the abiding, inward, 
keeping, ivorking power of Christ. Jesus is never so 
highly valued, so intensely loved, and so affectionately 
obeyed, as when the soul is kept in a state of holiness. 

" My dying Saviour and my God I 
Fountain for guilt and sin ! 
Sprinkle me ever with thy blood, 
And cleanse and keep me clean.'" — Wesley. 

132, Does not a state of entire sanctificatidn lead to 
iride and self righteousness ? 

No more than virtue leads to vice, or health to sick- 
ness, or strength to iveakness. Entire sanctification 
Is the very best possible safeguard against pride and 
self-righteousness. It is a perfect antagonism of all 
self-righteousness and pride, and no man can enter into 
a state of entire sanctification but by the extirpation 



MISCELLANEOUS. 21 7 

of inbred sin. To become perfectly humble never tends 
to pride. 

133. Does not sin in the soul serve to keep us hum- 
ble, and lead us to Christ ? 

No, never! Sin never produces humility, but quite 
the contrary. Pride is the very essence of sin, and it 
does not humble the soul, nor lead it to Christ. Grace, 
not sin, humbles the heart, and leads to the Saviour. 
Sin never humbled any soul. It inflates the soul with 
pride, and its tendency is cdways away from God. We 
shall never hate sin with perfect hatred, or love God 
with perfect love, so long as there remains any sin in 
our hearts. 

134. Is there not great danger of getting the stan- 
dard of holiness too high ? 

There is far more danger of getting it too low. There. 
is no danger of getting it too high if we keep to the 
Scriptures. The Bible standard is holiness — simple 
purity. " Love is the fulfilling of the law " — pure love. 
The Saviour gave the standard as follows : " Thou shalt 
love the Lord thy God with ail thy heart, and with all 
thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, 
and thy neighbor as thyself." I think there is but lit- 
tle danger of getting the standard higher than this. 

135. W\at must Christian perfection, or perfect 
love in believers, be limited by ? 

Holiness in man must of necessity be limited by the 
capacities and susceptibilities of fallen human nature. 

19 



218 MISCELLANEOUS. 

Those capacities and powers are created, and of neces- 
sity finite. Christian perfection does not make man 
a perfect angel, nor a perfect Adam, but a perfect 
Christian. 

1 36, Should ive not carefully distinguish between 
inbred sin and the innocent infirmities of fallen human 
nature ? 

We should ; otherwise we may on the one hand blame 
und afflict ourselves needlessly ; or, on the other, excuse 
ourselves from blame when we are really culpable. An 
intelligent, faithful Christian will wisely discriminate 
between them, and seek the extirpation of the one, and 
patiently endure the burdens of the other. 

Inbred sin is a carnal principle or root remaining in 
the unsanctified heart, sending up sprouts of bitterness 
which cling to the desires and appetites, and war against 
the soul. It is the foundation of all moral evils, such 
as envy, pride, stubbornness, malice, anger, jealousy, 
unbelief, fretfulness, impatience, revenge, covetousness, 
and every thing in opposition to the will of God. 

Human infirmities are various and numerous, such as 
mental aberrations, sophistical reasonings, treacherous 
memory, erratic imaginations, involuntary ignorance, 
and all those frailties and defects which may co-exist 
with the very best intentions. 

St. Paul recognizes this distinction ; be writes to 
Timothy, " Them that sin rebuke before all, that others 
may also fear. ; " and yet he writes to the "Romans, " We 
that are strong should bear with the infirmities of the 



MISCELLANEOUS. 219 

weak " Here are two plain commands ; the first not 
to bear with sins, and the second to bear with infirmi- 
ties. (See Sec. IV. Ques. 16.) 

137. Is simple purity or holiness a very high state 
of grace ? 

It is in itself a great and glorious state ; but when com- 
pared to " the breadth^ and length, and depth, and hight," 
to which the soul may attain through the rich and abun- 
dant grace of God, it is not a very high state of grace. 
Simple purity or holiness is but a low state of grace 
compared to being " filled with all the fullness of God." 

A merely regenerated state is a blessed one, and in- 
cludes a great and precious work in the soul. A sanc- 
tified state is a still greater and more glorious one ; but 
even this may be regarded as comparatively not a high 
state of religious attainment. 

The great measure of our advancement in knowledge, 
love, and holiness should be subsequent to the purifica- 
tion, the utter extirpation of sin from our hearts. This 
was true of Wesley, Fletcher, Clarke, Bramwell, Stoner, 
Carvosso, Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers, Mrs. Fletcher, Lady 
Maxwell ; and it ought to be true of every enlightened 
Christian. A sad mistake of millions in the church of 
God has been, regarding holiness as a very high state 
of grace, and growth in grace to be mainly between re- 
generation and entire sanciification, when it should be 
principally subsequent to being cleansed from all sin 
I do not know but this sad mistake may set back the 
millennium a thousand years. 



220 MISCELL AN EX) US. 

138. Was Mr. Wesley fearful that the people called 
Methodists ivould ever cease to be ? 

" I am not afraid that the people called Methodists 
should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. 
But I am afraid lest they should exist as a dead sect* 
having the form of religion without the power. And 
this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast 
the doctrine, spirit, and discipline, with which they first 
set out" 

Mr. Wesley's clear spiritual vision saw the great point 
of danger to which the church was exposed, and feared 
that the spirit of plain, simple Methodism would depart 
fvom her, and that the spirit of the world would take 
its place. 

If he were to leave his mansion near the throne, and 
visit the Methodist churches of America, in this day, 
we fear he would have occasion to cry out, in many 
places, in the language of the venerable Asbury, who, 
just before he died, preached in Baltimore, at the Eutaw 
Street Church, with great plainness of speech ; and after 
expressing his fears that the Baltimorians were depart- 
ing from the simplicity of Methodism, he raised his Voice 
and cried aloud, "Come back! come back!! COME 
BACK ! ! ! " 

139. Can a state of sanctification be lost, and a state 
of justification retained ? 

Dr. Foster says, " Not every thing that would mar a 
perfectly holy character would destroy the filial rela- 
tion of the believer ; as that relation subsisted prior to 



MISCELLANEOUS. 221 

entire sanctifi ^ation, so it may remain when that state 
is marred — ceases. Or the loss of entire sanctification 
may be attended, or immediately followed, by acts which 
also utterly destroy the earlier and inferior blessing of 
justification." 

A modern writer gives the following on this ques- 
tion : " Perhaps it is possible for one so to lose his hold 
of faith on the great sanctifying agent and the fullness 
of the atonement, as to become destitute of the positive 
* fruits of holiness, without falling under condemnation ; 
but when sanctification, both positive and negative, is 
wholly lost, justification is lost also. That is, when im- 
purity is again admitted into the heart, it is admitted 
by some act which brings condemnation. As condemna- 
tion and justification can not exist at the same time in 
reference to the same individual, it is plain that all who 
have fallen under condemnation have lost their justified 
state, as one of these states necessarily excludes the 
other." 

140. Will you give me your views of Mark xi. 24 ? 
"What things soever ye desire vjhen ye pray, believe 
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." 

There has been some difference of opinion in regard 
to the meaning of this passage ; and lest any should 
seem to have occasion for getting up a man of straw to 
tear in pieces, let me say, — 

1. We do not presume this passage to teach tliat any 
blessing can be received independently of the estab- 
lished conditions of its bestowment. 

19* 



222 MISCELLANEOUS. 

2. No one believes it to teach that faith in the 
fact of receiving a blessing is the condition of receiv- 
ing it. Such faith would involve the absurdity of be- 
lieving it is done, and it will be done. The effort of 
faith is not to embrace the fact of receiving a blessing, 
so as to make the belief that we receive the condition 
dr which we receive. 

3. This passage does not teach that any are to believe 
diey receive without a present, simple, appropriating 
faith in the merits of Christ. 

4. It does not teach that any are to believe they 
receive without reasonable and proper cause for so 
doing. When a soul is clearly conscious of having 
complied with the terms of salvation, God's promise 
and warrant render safe and proper the belief that he 
now accepts and saves. 

5. " Believe that ye receive them." When ? Just 
when you comply with the conditions ; not before you 
comply with them, and not after you have complied 
with them. You are not to believe that you receive 
them after you have got them, on the one hand, or be- 
fore you obtain them, on the other. 

6. " And ye shall receive them." When ? Not before 
you believe, but just when you believe. " Believe that 
ye receive," not shall receive, not have received, but 
that ye receive just now, while you are believing. "Ac* 
cording to jour faith be it unto you " is the established 
order of God ; and evangelically believing and receiv- 
ing are inseparably joined together, and can not be put 
asunder. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 223 

7. " Must I b3lieve I receive the blessing just now 
without evidence that I now do receive it ? " You 
are by no means to believe without evidence ; but the 
evidences upon which your faith is to rest for the bless- 
ing now are the promise, faithfulness, and certainty of 
God's word, and not your feelings or imaginations^ 
which may deceive you. You are to believe that you 
receive on the authority of Jesus Christ, you, on your 
part, having complied with the divinely appointed con- 
ditions. 

8. The faith that saves, that claims the promise, that 
relies and walks out on God's word, must precede the 
consciousness or interior witness of possession. There 
can be no room for saving faith after visible or tangible 
manifestations, or after the blessing is received. It is 
a matter of knowledge then. 

Mr. Fletcher says, " Beware of looking for any peace 
or joy previous to your believing ; and let this be "upper- 
most in your mind." 

You say, " I do not see any evidence, I do not feel 
any evidence, that I receive the blessing." If you have 
completely submitted to God, you are to believe, and have 
no right to doubt God's word because of any absence 
of feeling. Your faith for salvation is not to rest upon 
sight or feeling. The Bible says faith is the evidence 
of things not seen.- Faith in feeling, or in seeing, or in 
the toitness of the Spirit, does no v , save ; but faith, simple % 
naked faith in the word of God, does. 

9. Seeing, feeling, and possessing the evidences of 
salvation must be subsequent to its reception. Tim 



224 MISCELLANEOUS. 

olessing is conditioned on faith, and this faith must rest 
on the truth of God, as the evidences of possessing the 
blessing can not exist before the blessing is received. 

Dr. True says, " I know of no way to obtain this sal- 
vation but to follow the exact directions given, ' Believe 
that you receive, and you shall have.' " 

We can obtain salvation only by believing and trust- 
ing God. And an evangelical belief and trust in God can 
be exercised only in connection with complete submis- 
sion to him. 

10. Men are prone to live by sense rather than by 
faith, and are inclined to trust every thing and every 
body but God. This passage teaches the great and im- 
portant duty of purely trusting and believing God. 

I will conclude this answer by the following from that 
excellent and able work, " The New Testament Stan- 
dard of Piety," by Rev. W. McDonald : — 

" If I can not believe for entire sanctification until 
the evidence of its possession is clear, I can never be- 
lieve for it ; for the evidence of its possession must be 
subsequent to its possession, unless we receive the evi- 
dence first and the blessing afterward. The scriptural 
order is, faith first, the blessing next, and the evidence 
last. But with many it is the evidence first, the bless- 
ing next, and the faith last. 

" This difficulty arises from confounding faith and 
evidence. That which assures us that the blessing is 
ours, is the evidence which God gives, the witness of 
the Spirit. And if we do not believe until this evidence 
is received, we shall never believe ; for this evidence 



MISCELLANEOUS. 225 

which we so much desire is conditioned on faith, which 
faith must be exercised before the blessing is received." 
Dr. True says, " You need not be afraid to believe 
that you receive while you pray ; for according to the 
testimony of thousands, you will thereupon receive the 
direct witness of the Spirit. This is what you have 
hoped to receive first in order to believe ; but it comes, 
if* it comes at all, as the confirmation of your faith" 

141. What is the rest which the sanctified soul 
enjoys ? 

The Saviour says, " My peace I give unto you." 
" The work of righteousness [holiness] shall be peace, 
and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance 
forever." 

1. It is not a state in which we do not sympathize 
with the joys and sorrows of others. 

2. It is not a state of exemption from physical or 
mental suffering. 

3. It is not a state of exemption from the Christian 
warfare, or a state of inglorious ease from labor and 
Christian duty. 

4. It is a state of settled and complete satisfaction in 
God, he being " all in all " to the soul. 

5. It is a state of rest from the formei servitude to 
doubts, fears, and inbred sin. 

6. It is a state of rest, in which the tumult of the 
heart has been hushed into calmness ; and fear, and 
sorrow, and remorse have given place to quietness air* 
assurance. 



226 MISCELLANEOUS. 

7. It is a state of deep and permanent quietude and 
assurance in respect to all our interests, temporal and 
eternal. 

8. It is a state of sweet rest from ail conflict, not 
with the powers of darkness, but between the will and 
the conscience. " The body of sin has been destroyed/' 
and the soul has peace with itself — inward quietude. 

" Now rest, my long-divided heart ; 
Fixed on this blissful center, rest ; 
Nor ever from thy Lord depart — 
With him of every good possessed.'* 

142. What are the distinguishing' characteristics of 
perfect love ? 

1. Perfect love is perfect in quality. It is pure — 
without mixture ; it has no alloy. 

2. Perfect love is perfect in quantity. It is so as it 
fills the heart. It rules, sways the scepter; it is su- 
preme. " Be ye filled with the Spirit." 

3. Perfect love is constant love. If it is not constant, 
it is not perfect. There may not always be ecstatic 
joy, but there must always be a supreme preference 
for God. 

4. Perfect love is progressive love. It can not exist 
without growth. We may not always think we are 
progressing, but this does .not militate against the fact. 

5. Perfect love casts out all fear — all slavish, harm- 
ful fear, such as the guilty feel. It casts out the fear 
of man, of want, of death, of hell, and all slavish fear 
of God. " He that feareth is not made perfect in Jove." 
It does not cast out the fear, of caution, or a loving, 



MISCELLANEOUS. 227 

li/ia*. fear of God. It induces this kind of fear. It 
guards against presumption on the one hand, and 
against despondency on the other. 

" A heart in every thought renewed, 
And full of love divine ; 
Perfect, and right, and pure, and good — 
A copy, Lord, of thine." 

143. What are the natural and necessary indications 
of a pure heart ? 

The Saviour says, " Ye shall know them by their 
fruits." The streams must partake of the nature of 
the fountain. The heart gives character to the life by 
a law of necessity. It breathes itself through all our 
activities, and gives character to all our energies and 
actions. A pure heart will be indicated, — 

1. By pure and holy conversation. " Out of the 
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." If the 

heart is right, the conversation will be sweet, truthful, 

■ 

humble, heavenly, and holy. 

2. By opposition to all impurity. A pure heart 
loathes sin, and has no affinity for it. It shrinks from 
it, as a worm would from a fire. It abominates it, and 
recoils from it. 

3. By thorough watchfulness. The love of purity 
instinctively leads to watchfulness against impurity. 
The holy soul is led to watchfulness, in this polluted 
world, by its own instincts. 

4. By reluctance to mingle with the gay, the vain, and 
the worldly. It has no moral affinity for such society, 
and no taste for such associations. The charm of the 



228 MISCELLANEOUS. 

world lias been broken. The pure heart has tastes, 
motives, communings, and enjoyments totally dissimilar 
to the worldling. 

" Let worldly minds the world pursue ; 
It has no charms for me ; 
Once I admired its trifles too, 
But grace hath set me free." 

5. By the character of its enjoyments. It craves the 
spiritual, the holy, and the divine. Its enjoyments are 
purely religious ; they are sought by prayer,- reading 
the Scriptures, pious meditations, and by acts of Chris 
tian duty and usefulness. The enjoyments of a pure 
heart are sweet, rational, and unwasting. 

144. Is a proper state of mind necessary to the exei~ 
cise of saving faith ? 

Dr. Poster answers this question as follows : " Faith, 
m order to its exercise, presupposes a certain state of 
the mind and affections, and without these it can not 
exist — its very existence includes them ; namely, in 
the briefest terms, it supposes the knowledge of sin, and 
sorrow for it ; the knowledge that there is a Saviour, 
and a readiness to embrace him." 

Bishop Hedding says, " That faith which is the con- 
dition of this entire sanctification is exercised only by 
a penitent heart — a heart willing to part with all sin 
forever, and determined to do the will of God in all 
things." 

145. In what sense is faith the gift of God ? 
Faith is the gift of God in nearly the same sense in 



MISCELLANEOUS. 229 

which seeing) walking, and eating are the gift of God. 
These are the gift of God in such a sense that neither 
of thern can be done without him, and yet he does 
neither of them for us. The objects of sight and the 
power to see, the foundation on which to walk and 
the power to walk, the food we eat and the power to 
eat, are all, in an important sense, from God. But tho 
acts of seeing, of eating, and of walking are our own. 
He neither sees, walks, nor eats for us ; and yet we 
can do neither without him. Thus with faith. God 
gives truth, the object of faith, and the grace of faith, 
or the power to believe ; but he believes for no one. 
While he helps the believer, the act of believing is 
purely the believer's, and is voluntary — unnecessi- 
tated. 

146. In what sense does faith involve a voluntary 
exercise of the mind ? 

In attention, assent, and submission. First, we are , 
voluntary in giving proper attention to the truth, with its 
evidences ; secondly, we are, in a measure, voluntary 
in giving assent and credence to apprehended truth ; 
thirdly we are voluntary in the practical reception of 
the truth, and in submission to its claims, which involve 
trust and reliance. 

The pivot upon which the salvation of the soul turns 
ts its submission to the claims of truth. We are saved 
oy the belief of the truth. Truth demands attention 
and submission. An intelligent, voluntary rejection 
af the perceived and admitted claims of truth, consti 

20 



230 MISCELLANEOUS. 

tutes the most terribly damning sin which was ever 
committed. Unbelief is a voluntary rejection of truth. 
Faith is a voluntary submission to its claims. Faith 
and unbelief are the axles on which all real happiness 
or wretchedness revolves. 

147. Why need toe seek holiness if we can die safe 
in a justified state ? 

An able writer well says, " Those cases in which 
justified persons would die safe are those in which there 
has not been time to advance to this higher state, or 
the subject has not been presented in a way to give a 
sense of its importance. Those who have had time 
granted them, and are convinced of the necessity of a 
clean heart, will not retain their justification, unless, 
according to their ability, they walk in the light that is 
given them. And here, let it be understood, is a point 
of immense importance. 

" If any one having the evidence of justification, 
and yet convinced of his inward corruptions and the 
divine claim upon him to love God with all the heart, 
should refuse to meet that claim, though the complete 
provisions and promises of the gospel were fully set 
before him, he would forfeit his justification by griev- 
ing the Holy Spirit, and neglecting this ' great salva- 
tion.' " 

Mr. Fletcher says, " So long as a Christian believer 
sincerely presses after Christian perfection, he is safe, 
because he is in the way of duty ; and, were he to die 
at midnight, before midnight God would certainly bring 



MISCELLANEOUS . 231 

him to Christian perfection, or bring Christian perfec 
tion to him." 

Dr. Dempster says, " While it is true that no believer 
is lost, and none with impurity is saved, it is equally 
true that no one retains his justification — dies without 
sanctification. Apostasy or purity is the only possible 
alternative after regeneration." 

John Fletcher says Philip Doddridge and Archbishop 
Leigh ton doubted whether those who do not sincerely 
aspire after perfection have saving grace. A justified 
soul can not be lost if it do not fall ; but it is in great 
danger of falling if holiness is not constantly sought. 
(See Sec. XVII.) 

148. Hoto soon after William Carvosso's conversion 
did he seek holiness ? 

Father Carvosso tells us that he sought and obtained 
tins blessing in less than five months after his conver- 
sion. His evidence of regenerating grace was so clear 
and strong that he asserts, " I never had one doubt of 
my acceptance, and Satan himself knew it was in vain 
to attack me from that quarter." 

Immediately after his conversion he says, " What 1 
now wanted was inward holiness." He sought it, ob- 
tained it, and gives us a clear testimony concerning thv 
purity of his soul through the sanctifying power oi 
Christ. Let it not be forgotten that he listened to Mi 
Wesley's preaching during twenty years, and a thou- 
sand times, witli streaming eyes, praised God for send- 
ing Mr. Wesley to Cornwall. 



232 MISCELLANEOUS. 

149. Wliat are the chief hinderantes to the promo- 
tion of holiness in the church ? 

1. There is much defective and unsound teaching 
respecting it. This greatly retards the work. 

2. There is a great want of clear and decided wit- 
nesses of holiness in the ministry. It can not be 
expected that the laity will go ahead of the ministry 
in piety. " Like priests, like people," is true in this 
regard. 

3. The extravagances and inconsistencies of some 
who profess perfect love have done much to impede the 
work of holiness. 

4. The opposition and prejudice against it in the 
hearts of many unsanctified worldly professors is a 
great hinderance to its progress. 

Let these hinderances and impediments be taken out 
of the way, and the experience and profession of perfect 
love would be as common in the church as the want 
of it is now. 

150. What is the great leading hinderance to the, 
exercise of simple, naked faith ? 

A desire to possess the fruits of faith before we be 
tieve. We want to go by sense, and feel first. Many 
are more solicitous about feeling than faith. We want 
to see signs and wonders before we believe. We have 
**o right to expect feeling, the fruit of faith, before we 
Relieve. We might just as well want to taste our food 
before we eat it. 

It will never do to make a Saviour of our feelings. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 233 

Many persons spend their time in vain efforts to force 
themselves into a right state of feeling. Feelings do 
not result from a direct effort to feel ? but from true 
faith. If we would be saved, we must stop quar- 
reling with our feelings, and trust all now and for- 
ever upon the immutable word of God, and we shall 
have just the right kind and the right amount of 
feeling. 

We are to take God at his word, and rely upon his 
truth, and give it the same confidence as though it 
were proclaimed from heaven by God himself in a voice 
of thunder. 

15.1. Can holiness be retained without growing in 

grace ? 

It can only be retained by a steady progress in the 
divine life. The conditions of obtaining holiness and 
of retaining it are the same ; and the conditions of ob- 
taining and retaining it are those by which the soul is 
to grow and mature in holiness. Hence a violation of 
the conditions of increase and growth in holiness for- 
feits the state of holiness itself. 

Again, our capacities and powers are improvable and 
expansive, and we must proportionately grow in holi- 
ness or incur guilt and fall from grace. 

152. Wliat is understood by our being made par- 
takers of the divine nature ? 

It is to be made partakers of his holiness, and to 
become morally like God. It involves being created 

20* 



234 MISCELLANEOUS. 

anew, in Christ Jesus, in righteousness and true holi- 
ness, so as to bear the divine image and possess the 
Hoi} 7 Spirit. 

" God is love ; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth 
in God, and God in him." 

This is the only sense in which any intelligent being 
can be a partaker of the divine nature. " But he," 
says the apostle, " for our profit, that we might be par- 
takers of his holiness." To be " partakers of his holi- 
ness," is the same as to be " partakers of the divine 
nature." 

153. If, in being made partakers of the divine na 
ture, we become like God, do we not become gods ? 

No more than one ray of light makes the sun. A 
ray of light is like the sun, and yet it is not the sun. 
One drop of water is not the ocean, and yet it is like 
the ocean. The quality is the same. 

The Christian may be like God, and not God, as 
a drop is like the ocean, and yet not the ocean. 

154. What is the great prerequisite and only prepa 
ration for heaven ? 

Nothing else but a state of holiness — simple purity 
" Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see 
God." Unmixed, simple, present, perfect love — per- 
fect, not in degree or development, but in character or 
quality. One grain of perfect wheat is ae good in 
quality as a ship-load. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 235 

155. What is the great business of all regenerated 

men ? 

It is to secure and retain a state of entire sanctifica- 
tion. This is the great question between them and 
God on the one hand, and Satan on the other. It is 
vastly important that every believer keep this question 
thoroughly and constantly settled. 

156. Wliat are the fruits of conviction for the bless- 
ing of regeneration ? 

A renunciation of sin ; a confession of sin ; an hon- 
est regret of sin ; a turning from the vanities of the 
world ; a resolute seeking of God ; a strong anxiety to 
do his will, and prayer for pardon and salvation. 

157. What are the fruits of conviction for the 
olessing of perfect love ? 

Deep self-abasement and humility of spirit ; self-re- 
nunciation and submission to God ; self-loathings, and 
hungerings and thirstings after righteousness ; and a 
willingness to suffer any thing, be any thing, or do any 
thing to please God and obtain a pure heart. 

158. Do sanctified souls lose the blessing sometimes 
before they become established therein ? 

Mr. Wesley says, " It is an exceedingly common 
thing for persons to lose it more than once before they 
are established therein." ... a It is a miracle if they 
do not, seeing all earth and hell are so enraged against 
them ; while, meantime, so very few, even of the chhV 



236 MISCELLANEOUS. 

dren of God, skillfully endeavor to strengthen their 
hands." 

159. Wliat is the progress from grace to sin ? 

1. "A temptation ariseth, whether from the wcrld, 
the flesh, or the devil, it matters not. 

2. " He gives way, in some degree, to the tempta- 
tion, which now begins to grow pleasing to him. 

3. " The Holy Spirit is grieved; his faith is weak- 
ened, and his love of God grows cold. 

4. " The Spirit reproves him more sharply, and saitli, 
' This is the way ; walk thou in it.' 

5. " He turns away from the painful voice of God, 
and listens to the pleasing voice of the tempter. 

6. " Evil desire begins and springs in his soul, till 
faith and love vanish away ; he is then capable of com- 
mitting outward sin, the power of the Lord being de- 
parted from him." — Wesley. 

160. How can a perfect Christian u grieve the Holy 
Spirit of God?" 

1. " By such conversation as is not profitable, not to 
the use of edifying, not apt to minister grace to the 
hearers. 

2. " By relapsing into bitterness or want of kind- 
ness. 

3. " By wrath, lasting displeasure, or want of ten- 
der-heartedness. 

4. " By anger, however soon it is over ; want of in 
stantly forgiving one another. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 237 

5. " By clamor or brawling, loud, harsh, rough 
speaking. 

6. " By evil speaking, whispering, talc-bearing ; need- 
lessly mentioning the fault of an absent person, though 
in ever so soft a manner." — Wesley. 

161. Does God sometimes afflict his children in 
order to lead them to seek holiness? 

Dr. Stephen Olin writes, " I had difficulties respect- 
ing our own theoretical views of the doctrine — perfect 
love. I even joined the Conference with exceptions to 
it, and stated my objections when a candidate before 
the whole body. But I was admitted, the Conference 
expressing the hope that further inquiries would rectify 
my views. 

" Years, however, passed without any modification 
of my opinions. But it pleased God to lead me into 
the truth. My health failed, my official employments 
had to be abandoned, I lost my children, my wife died, 
and I was wandering over the world alone, with scarce- 
ly any thing remaining but God. I lost my hold on 
all things else, and became, as it were, lost myself in 
God. My affections centered in him. My will became 
absorbed in his. I sunk, as it were, into the blessing 
of perfect love, and found in my own consciousness 
the reality of the doctrine which I had theoretically 
doubted." 

162. 75 there not a great deal of indifference ana 
apathy on this subject in the church ? 

There is, and it manifests itself all through the 



238 MISCELLANEOUS. 

church of Christ. Where is the evidence that 'the 
mass of the church is " hungering and thirsting after 
righteousness " ? If God says " Woe to them that are 
at ease in Zion," what a multitude in the church must 
be under his displeasure ! There are thousands in the 
various churches who are living in an imaginary secu- 
rity, and have no troublesome anxieties about their 
own souls or the souls of others ; they fancy themselves 
really safe. " Come up, breath, and breathe upon 
these slain, that they may live." 

163. How much ought I to fast? 

Your body is the " temple of the Holy Ghost," and 
you are to govern it, but not to injure it. You should 
fast enough to make it a means of grace, but not so 
much as to make it an instrument of temptation. The 
state of your health will help you to decide this ques- 
tion. 

164. Why is not entire sanctifi cation received at 
Ihe time of pardon and regeneration? 

Dr: Foster answers this question as follows : " Their 
[sinners'] whole effort is directed to the gain of pardon 
and reconciliation. For this they pray, and weep, and 
mourn. The cry of their heart is, ' God be merciful 
to me a sinner ! ' ' Save, or I perish.' Their faith is 
kept upon this one object. Allowing, therefore, entire 
sanctification to be a distinct work, as we do, and 
allowing that its condition is faith, it is no marvel that 
it is not obtained synchronically with pardon. It was 



MISCELLANEOUS. 239 

not asked for ; it was not believed for ; it was not, 
course, bestoued." 

165. If I lose the blessing, must I tell others of it ? 

I would say, generally, this would be very improper. 
It would weaken the feeble-minded, and stagger those 
who are seeking. Fly directly to Christ. Take him 
again by simple faith as a present Saviour. Cry, Lord, 
here I am ; I repent ; I give up all ; I am fully thine. 
Thou art my Saviour. I will, I do believe. You 
might tell an intimate friend or two ; they would help 
you by their prayers. 

166. What course do the most of professors of 
religion pursue in regard to holiness ? 

'Like the ancient Israelites, instead of going directly 
to Canaan, they take a zigzag course of wandering in 
the wilderness. Their unbelief and disobedience pre- 
vent their entering the spiritual Canaan, and subject 
them to the necessity of a return to Egypt, or to cease- 
less wanderings in the wilderness, almost in sight of 
the beautiful hills of that land, which flows with milk 
and honey. It was only twelve days' journey from 
Horeb to Canaan. Mr. Wesley tells of some who 
passed into Canaan, " some ten days, some seven, some 
four, and some three days " after they were delivered 
from the bondage of the devil. 

167. WJiat are the results of this course on the 
vart of the church ? 

The results are similar to those which befell the 



240 MISCELLANEOUS. 

ancient Israelites. With their refusal to obey God, 
and go over into Canaan, their backslidings and 
troubles commenced. 

1. The ten cowardly, unbelieving, rebellious spies 
were struck dead on the spot. And may the Lord have 
mercy on those ministers, who, following the example 
of the ten unbelieving spies, bring up an evil report 
from the land. Even some ministers who have been 
through the land, and have tasted of its precious fruits, 
have gone back into the wilderness again, and have 
ceased to urge the people to go over. It is to be 
feared, when Jesus comes, such ministers will be found 
wanting. 

2. The Israelites were ordered back into the. wilder- 
ness ; just as Christians begin to backslide when they 

. feel it their duty, and see it their privilege, to seek holi- 
uess, and refuse to do it. As Israel could not stay on 
the borders of the promised land and not go over, so 
believers will backslide if they do not go on unto per- 
fection. 

3. Sin changed the countenance of God toward the 
Israelites, and put them under a terrible discipline. 
The same is strikingly true of those who know their 
duty in regard to seeking holiness, and do it not. 

4. The Israelites were forsaken of God, defeated by 
their enemies, visited by destroying angels, by fiery 
serpents, leprosy, plagues, and earthquakes. They 
murmured, rebelled, and became cowardly, licentious, 
idolatrous, and a merciful God only knows what not. 
The carcasses of three millions of them fell in what 



MISCELLANEOUS. 241 

was to them a howling wilderness. Analogous to all 
this are the terrible spiritual results of a refusal, on the 
part of the church, to go on to perfection. Among 
these results are, being forsaken of God, defeat in 
spiritual conflict, fiery trials, doubts, fears, and coward- 
ice, coldness and moral stupor, worldliness, licentious- 
ness, and idolatry. If these things are not found to be 
fearfully prevalent in the various churches of Christen- 
dom, I shall be as thankful and glad as any other man. 

168. Why is it that many who desire holiness, and 
read, and pray, and resolve, and weep, and struggle, 

.yet make but little progress in the way of holiness ? 

It is mainly because they refuse to comply with the 
conditions on which they soon come to see the blessing 
is suspended. One man sees that if he would be holy 
he must adopt a new system of benevolence. Another 
sees, as he approaches the clear light of perfect love, a 
probable call to the ministry, should he go forward. 
Another sees a large class of duties, hitherto neglected, 
which must be performed. A sister sees, if holiness is 
obtained and retained, she will have to conform to the 
simplicity of the gospel of Christ, and undergo a 
material change in her equipage and costume. Many 
cease to seek holiness when the knife of excision is put 
to the heart to amputate its idols. 

169. I do not understand how a sanctified soul can 
be tempted. 

Can you understand how the Saviour was tempted, 

21 



242 MISCELLANEOUS. 

or how sinless Adam was tempted ? You will remem- 
ber, though the inward man of sin is slain and cast 
out, the devil is neither slain, taken out of the world, 
nor shut up in hell yet. 

The sanctified soul has five senses, which are avenues 
of contact with the world. These senses are to be kept 
" with all diligence," so long as we are in a world 
abounding with evil, and in which " the devil, as a 
roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may 
devour." 

170. If a believer yields to temptation, and falls into 
sin, is it a proof that he ivas never cleansed from inbred 
sin ? 

No. Holiness does not raise men above Adam in 
paradise, or the angels in heaven. Adam yielded to 
the tempter, and fell into sin ; but that did not prove 
that he had inbred sin before his fall. Holiness makes 
no one impeccable ; and we should not confound 
peccability with sin, or the power of sinning with 
the actual use of that power. If the commission of 
sin necessarily demonstrates that the heart was corrupt 
before the act of sin, it will follow that Adam and Eve 
were fallen before they sinned. 

171. Should the sanctified soul seek for, or expect^ 
or desire, any thing beyond more of holiness-— as gifls y 
new revelations, Sfc. ? 

By no means. The heart full of love has already, 
found " a more excellent way " than these. 



MISCELLANEOUS. , 2-13 

Mr. Wesley says, "The very desire of 'growing in 
grace ' may sometimes be an inlet of enthusiasm. As 
it continually leads us to seek new grace, it may lead' 
us unawares to seek something else neiv, besides new 
degrees of love to God and man. So it has led some 
to seek and fancy they had received gifts of a new kind, 
after a new heart. 

"Another ground of these and a thousand mistakes 
is, the not considering deeply that love is the highest 
gift of God — humble , gentle, patient love; that all 
visions, revelations, manifestations whatever, are little 
things compared to love ; and that all the gifts above 
mentioned are either the same with, or infinitely in- 
ferior to, it. 

" It is well you should be thoroughly sensible of this 
— the heaven of heavens is love. There is nothing 
higher in religion — there is, in effect, nothing else. 
If you look for any thing but more love, you are look- 
ing wide of the mark — you are getting out of the 
ropil way. 

" And when you are asking others, ' Have you re- 
ceived this or that blessing ? ' if you mean any thing 
but more love, you mean wrong ; you are leading them 
out of the way, and putting them upon a false scent. 
Settle it, then, in your heart, that from the moment 
God has saved you from all sin, you are to aim at 
nothing more, but more of that love described in 
the thirteenth of the Corinthians. You can go no 
higher than this, till you are carried into Abraham's 
bosom. 



244 MISCELLANEOUS. 

"I say again, Beware of enthusiasm; such as, the 
imagining* you have the gift of prophesying, or of dis* 
cerning of spirits, which I do not believe one of you 
has ; no, nor ever had yet." 

172. Should the ivork of regeneration and of 
sanctification, among 1 sinners and believers, go on 
together ? 

Such we believe to be the true order of God. Sal- 
vation must come out of Zion. The church is to obtain 
and impart life. The sanctification of believers in the 
church, and the conversion of sinners out of it, should 
go on simultaneously. 

Mr. Wesley believed and said, for each believer sanc- 
tified, ten sinnners would be converted. Nothing adds 
such power to a revival as to have believers sanctified 
while sinners are being converted. 

The best, the easiest, the most profitable, and the 
most extensive and lasting revivals are those which 
commence with the " perfecting of the saints." Such 
reformations move easily and powerfully, and go deep 
and thorough in saving souls. This was true of the 
most powerful and extensive revivals under the labors 
of Wesley, Bramwell, Hunter, Carvosso, Stoner, Ab- 
bott, Hibbard, Garrettson, Caughey, Finney, and Mrs. 
Phoebe Palmer. 

The sanctification of believers constitutes the best 
possible preparation the church can possess for the re- 
ception of converts to her bosom. It is to be feared 
many, very many, genuine converts have been ruined 



MISCELLANEOUS. 245 

by uniting with cold, worldly, and unsanctified churches. 
The church of God carries a fearful responsibility in 
this matter. 

173. What was Arvid Gradin's dejinitiom of the 
"full assurance of faith" as given to Mr. Wesley, and 
indorsed by him ? 

" A repose in the blood of Christ, a firm confidence 
in God, and persuasion of his favor, the highest tran- 
quillity, serenity, and peace of mind, with a deliverance 
from every fleshly desire, and a cessation of all, even 
inward, sins." 

174, Is the baptism of the Holy Ghost, or being 
filled with the Spirit, the blessing of holiness ? 

It includes it. To be "full of the Holy Ghost," 
"full of faith and the Holy Ghost," "full of faith and 
power," and to be "filled with all the fullness of God," 
is to possess full salvation, or perfect love. To be 
" filled with all the fullness of God," is, however, much 
more than merely to be sanctified ; it involves enlarge- 
ment and growth in love, power, and holiness. 

The disciples before the Pentecost were Christians, 
They had been chosen out of the world; they were the 
servants and companions of Christ ; they had preached 
Jesus and the resurrection ; they had cast out devUs, 
and they loved the Saviour, and had denied them- 
selves, taken up their cross, and had followed him. 

But they were not entirely sanctified. The Saviour 
found it necessary at times to reprove them for unbe 

21* 



248 MISCELLANEOUS. 

lief, instability, selfishness, a worldly, secular spirit) 
a retaliating spirit, and a cowardly and vacillating 
spirit. 
# The Saviour saw their unsanctified hearts, and 
prayed that they all might be sanctified through the 
truth, and become one with himself and the Father. 
Before his ascension he directed them to return to 
Jerusalem and hold a prayer meeting, with the assur- 
ance that he would send the " promise of the Father " — 
the baptism of the Holy Ghost — upon them. He had 
predicted during his ministry, that some of his hearers 
should not taste death until the kingdom of God came 
with power. That kingdom came with power on the 
morning of Pentecost, and consisted in " righteousness, 
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 

The one hundred and twenty gathered in the upper 
room " were all filled with the Holy Ghost." That 
baptism, doubtless, sanctified every one of them. It 
took all the unbelief out of Thomas. It prepared Ste- 
phen for martyrdom. It completely cured Peter, so 
that he never cowed before the enemies of the Lord, or 
cursed, or swore, or denied his Lord again. He lived 
a hero, and died a martyr. He was crucified with his 
head downward, because he chose not to die like his 
Lord. 

Every one of the one hundred and twenty was 
made as firm as an iron pillar strong ; and, although 
the little band found themselves launched forth upon 
the mightiest enterprise ever undertaken by mortals, 
and opposed at every step by wicked men and devils, 



MISCELLANEOUS. 2 1 1 

yet we never hear of a single instance of apostasy 
among them. 

The power which fell on them diffused itself on 
every hand, and Peter's first sermon was a perfect 
thunder-clap from end to end, and created a general 
cry for mercy, so that three thousand souls were con- 
verted before night. 

That the disciples were all sanctified at the day of 
Pentecost is taught by nearly all the authorities and 
standards of Methodism. Dr. Jesse T. Peck says, 
" The special outpouring of the Holy Ghost is alone 
a baptism of holiness ; the holiness of the church is 
defective ; therefore the great want of the church is a 
^baptism of the Holy Ghost." 

" Come, Holy Ghost, my heart inspire ; 

Attest that I am born again ; 
Come, and baptize me now with fire, 

Nor let thy former gifts be vain. 
I can not rest in sins forgiven ; 
Where is the earnest of my heaven ? " 

175. Should the sanclification of believers constitute 
a prominent item in our camp-meeting services ? 

It should ; and for the following among other rea- 
sons : — » 

1. Labor for the " perfecting of the saints " is proper 
any where, and especially where there is a general con* 
vocation of them. 

2. It is one of the two grand objects of camp mee* 
ings. These meetings are appointed for the special 
benefit of the church and the impenitent — the sane 



248 MISCELLANEOUS. 

tiftcation of believers and the conversion of sinners 
These two works should go on simultaneously. (Seo 
Sec. XXII. Ques. 172.) 

3. Camp meetings afford a very favorable opportu- 
nity for the seeking of perfect love. The absence of 
worldly care, the consecutive and protracted religious 
services, the powerful and pointed preaching, the re- 
hearsal of rich and varied religious experience, the 
heavenly and gracious influences, and all the delightful 
exercises of a good camp meeting are peculiarly favor 
able to the seeking of holiness. 

4. The sanctification of believers furnisher the best 
possible preparation to labor for the conversion of sin- 
ners. One of the first and great objects of all believers 
is to get a thorough preparation for efficient labor for 
God. Believers should be always ready to labor for 
God ; and, if they are not, they should get ready before 
going to camp meeting. But this is very far from 
being the case ; and so long as it remains so manifestly 
true that the mass, the majority, of believers who attend 
our feast of tabernacles are but partially sanctified, and 
but ill prepared to work efficiently for God, it will be 
proper and important to give the subject of perfect love 
due prominence. « 

To commence the labors of a meeting of this kind 
directly and principally for the conversion of a few 
scattered sinners, who may be on the ground during 
preaching hours, while there are hundreds of unsane- 
tified believers present, who ought to be led into the 
Canaan of perfect love, is to go aside from the order. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 249 

of God, grieve the Holy Spirit, and block the car of 
salvation. 

The results of a good camp meeting are to te looked 
for more in our various fields of labor after the meet- 
ing than in the conversion of a few sinners during the 
meeting. The conversion of a hundred souls on the 
ground, we admit, is a great and desirable work ; but 
we maintain, to have the foundation laid deep and solid 
(in the sanctification of believers by the baptism of 
the Holy Ghost) for revivals all over the surrounding 
country, resulting in the conversion of hundreds of 
souls, is a much greater work, and likely to be much 
more permanent. 

But the very way to secure the conversion of sinners 
on the camp ground, or any where else, is, for believers 
to humble themselves at the feet of Jesus, and seek the 
perfect love of God, which always secures the convict- 
ing, convincing, regenerating, justifying power of the 
Holy Ghost. 

176. Do you think the interests and work of holi- 
ness are progressing in the church ? 

I do. More attention is now given to the circulation 
of books and periodicals devoted to its promotion than 
ever before, and the attention of the church more gen- 
erally is being directed to its claims and importance. 
Those in the ministry who enjoy it, and faithfully preach 
it, are . increasing constantly, and the witnesses of per- 
fect love in the membership are augmenting from year 
to year. 



£50 MISCELLANEOUS. 

The rich and able productions of Wesley, Fletcher, 
Drs. George and Jesse T. Peck, and Mrs. Phoebe Pal- 
mer have done, and are doing, much to promote this 
blessed work. The " Guide to Holiness " and " Beauty 
of Holiness " are being scattered all through the 
church, and are truly doing a great work for God and 
the truth. The truth must and will prevail. A brighter 
day is dawning on the church. 

But it must be remembered there is much yet to be 
done, as vast multitudes of our people have never read 
the excellent books and periodicals furnished by the 
church on this subject. Many of our preachers do not 
* enjoy perfect love ; some seldom preach it ; and painful 
as is the admission, we can not avoid the conviction 
that some discard Mr. Wesley's views altogether. Many, 
very many, of our members are living without an exper- 
, imental knowledge of its saving power and blessedness. 
Some, we fear, are content to remain so. 

While, then, we rejoice, and acknowledge and give 
thanks' to God for what has been done and for what is 
being done, we should also be incited to pray and labor 
to secure a more extensive and general work of perfect 
love through our entire ministry and membership. 
May the Lord hasten the day when the church gener* 
ally shall pass into the Canaan of perfect love. 

" O that they might at once go up ! 
No more on this side Jordan stop, 

But now the land possess ; 
This moment end their legal years, 
Sorrows, and sins, and doubts, and fears, 
A howling wilderness." 



MISCELLANEOUS. 251 

1 77. Did Mr. Wesley preach often upon the sub- 
iect of holiness ? 

We think he did, and for the following reasons : — 

1. Mr. Wesley was a consistent man, and it can not 
be supposed that he would in conference, in private, 
and by letter urge and press his preachers to preach 
constantly, strongly, and explicity on the subject, while 
he himself did not set them an example to be fol- 
lowed. 

2. In the journals of Dr. Adam Clarke, Bramwell, 
Carvosso, Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers, and Lady Maxwell, 
where a great number of Mr. Wesley's sermons and 
texts are noticed, you will find a large proportion of 
them are on the subject of full salvation or perfection. 
If any doubt, let him examine. More than one half of 
the hymns composed by Mr. Wesley were upon tho 
subject of holiness. 

The fact that but few of his published sermons are 
devoted specifically to the subject of Christian perfec- 
tion does not argue against his preaching much upon 
it. These sermons which he published were designed 
to present a general survey of Christian theology. 
There are more of them, however, devoted specifically 
to the subject of holiness than to any other one topic. 

Let it be remembered that we have but about one 
hundred and forty of his sermons ; while he preached 
over seven hundred times a year during his ministry 
and in his lifetime over forty-two thousand sermons. 

178. Is there to some extent a spirit of opposition 



2d2 miscellaneous. 

in the Methodist church to the doctrine, experience, and 

profession of sanctification ? 

That the doctrine, as an item of Methodist theology, 
is generally received, is admitted. But it is quite gen- 
erally believed by those who have obtained the bless- 
ing, and who profess it, and endeavor to advocate 
«uid vindicate it, that there is more opposition in the 
church to it than many are willing to allow. 

The same was true in Mr. Wesley's day ; some of his 
preachers and members would not receive the doctrine, 
and he was- often at his wits' end in keeping them from 
dropping it altogether. 

No man can claim to be a Methodist on this subject 
who discards Wesley, Fletcher, Watson, and Clarke — 
the standards of the church on this subject. 

We can not avoid the conviction that in our own 
loved communion there are some, in both the ministry 
and laity, who discard Mr. Wesley's views altogether. 
Many who profess to believe the doctrine, and who 
neglect to seek it, will oppose and reject it when its 
claims are urged and pressed home upon them. 

As long as it is left in the standards, in our book- 
cases, or as long as it is only preached as an item of 
the Methodist creed, in an indefinite and general as- 
pect, it meets with but little opposition. But when it 
is urged home upon believers, as a present duty and 
privilege, to be sought now, and not to be. neglected, — 
in many of our churches it is met with stern opposition 
in both the ministry and membership. 

The doctrine of regeneration may be so presented as 



MISCELLANEOUS. 253 

not to lead one sinner a year to seek it, and so as never 
to trouble sinners concerning it. So the doctrine of 
holiness may be so presented as to stir up no opposition 
against it on the one hand, nor lead any believers to 
seek it on the other. 

Whenever it is clearly, strongly, explicitly, and ur- 
gently presented, so as to trouble those who are neglect- 
ing it, and so as to lead some to seek, obtain, and pro- 
fess it, it meets with more or less opposition in both 
ministry and laity. - Love to God, to the church, and 
to this blessed doctrine, should lead every true Method- 
ist to face this ominous fact. It is no office of charity 
to ignore plain facts. And it is no way to do away 
with evils, to shut our eyes against them, or to pass 
over them, and remain indifferent concerning them. 

Our fathers did not : though they were full of 
charity, they were direct, spiritual, searching, ear- 
nest, pointed, and severe upon sin, 

179. WIw are the most virulent opposers of entire 
sanctification ? 

Those professors who have received the most light on 

the subject, and have often been convicted of their 

need of it, and yet have failed to seek it. There is a 

large class of these persons who have been a long series 

of years in the church, and yet have no experimental 

knowledge of entire sanctification as a distinct blessing 

from regeneration. As might be expected, (as a result 

of not seeking holiness,) many of these have become 

cold, indifferent, and backslidden. These are the per- 

bo 



254 MISCELLANEOUS. 

sons generally in the church who oppose entire sanetifi* 
cation. 

Mr. Wesley said, " Those who love God with all 
their heart must expect much opposition from profess- 
ors who have gone on for twenty years in an old, beat- 
en track, and fancy they are wiser than all the world. 
These always oppose the work of sanctification 

MOST." 

If Mr. Wesley had cause to utter this in his day, 
what would be his language were he to visit the for- 
mal, proud, popular churches of this time, in hundreds 
of which there is not a single witness of entire sanctifi- 
cation ? 

180; Are the spirit of holiness and the spirit of the 
ivorld antagonistic ? 

They are. Yirtue and vice, truth and error, light 
and darkness, are not more so. The Spirit of God and 
the spirit of the world can never harmonize. Sin is an 
offensive, abominable thing, which God hates, and " the 
carnal mind is enmity against God." There is no 
sympathy between sin and holiness, and no medium 
ground for any to occupy. Jesus said, " No man can 
serve two masters ; " " He that is not with me is 
against me, and he that gathereth not with me scatter- 
eth abroad. " 

The two grand divisions with respect to moral char- 
acter, the "saint" and the " sinner," the "believer" 
and the " unbeliever," the " righteous " and the 
" wicked," the "just " and the " unjust," the " godly " 



MISCELLANEOUS. 2h"0 

and the " ungodly," are as emphatically true to their 
names and natures now as they ever have been. 

God can never compromise with wicked men, and by 
nature, and of necessity, wicked men have no sympathy 
for God, God, in infinite mercy, has instituted a way 
of salvation by which wicked men may be redeemed 
from sin, but never in sin. Those whom God lias 
saved hate sin and love holiness. A state of salvation 
involves sympathy with God^ and a state of sin involves 
sympathy with the world. 

The spirit of the world is in direct antagonism to the 
Spirit of God. The men of the world have no sympa- 
thy for God, and are full of sympathy for the world. 
" He that will be a friend of the icorld is the enemy 
of God." 

The more fully the children of God are possessed of 
the Spirit of Christ, the more vigorous is their contest 
with the world, and vice versa. The opposition of 
spirit between Christians and men of the world can 
never cease. " Marvel not," said Jesus, " if the world 
hate you ; it hated me before it hated you." " If ye 
were of the world, the world would love its own ; but, 
because ye are not of the world, therefore the world 
hateth you." 

181. How is a compromising spirit with the idorld 
usually manifested ? 

It manifests itself in many ways, some of which are 
the following : — 

1. In efforts to popularize Christianity with tha 



256 MISCELLANEOUS. 

world ? and looking to increase her influence in that 
way. 

2. In efforts to lower the Bible standard of piety, in 
order to make it less repulsive to the minds of carnal 
men. 

3. In efforts to regulate sin, instead of opposing and 
prohibiting it. 

4. In acts which pander to the vices of wicked men, 
or which countenance, directly or indirectly, the com- 
mission of sin. 

5. In the abandonment of Bible terms, in the rela- 
tion of religious experience, in order to please men. 

6. In the polishing and softening of those truths 
which God has left rough and hard. 

7. In depending for the prosperity of the church 
upon her wealth and popularity, or upon the learning, 
talents, and eloquence of her ministers, rather than 
upon the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and a solid, high 
tone of piety in her ministry and membership. 

182. How did the apostle Paul magnify his apostle- 
ship ? 

He tells us that he approved himself in all things 
as a minister of God — in "afflictions," " distresses,'' 
" stripes," " imprisonments," " tumults," " labors," 
" watchings," "fastings," "long sufferings," "dis- 
honor," "evil report," "unknown," " dying," " chas- 
tened," " sorrowful," "possessing nothing," " in labors 
more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons 
more frequent, in deaths oft." 



MISCELLANEOUS. 257 

He received of the Jews, at five diffeient times, 
•' forty stripes save one ; " " thrice he was beaten with 
rods ; " " once stoned ; v •• tiirice he suffered shipwreck ; " 
" a night and a day he was in the deep ; " "journeys 
often ; " " in perils of water,'' " of robbers," " of his 
own countrymen," M of the heathen," " in the city," 
" in the sea," and " among false brethren." He was 
u weary," " painful," " hungry," " thirsty," " cold and 
naked." 

Reader, here you have a brief epitome of the labor, 
sufferings, and sacrifices of the chief of the apostles. 

183. Is not the fact that many persons lose perfect 
love several times before they become established therein 
against the seeking of it ? 

It is at least no more so than the same fact in regard 
to justification is against the seeking of that blessing. 
It is a common thing for converts to lose the witness 
of justification many times before they become fully 
established therein. There is, however, no necessity 
of losing either ; and we think there is much less dan- 
ger of losing perfect love (other circumstances being 
equal) than justification. 

Doubtless, if the light of justification were more 
general and more clear in the church, converts would 
be less likely to lose their justification during their 
early experience ; and if the blessing of perfect love 
were more generally sought and obtained by the min- 
istry and membership, and more clearly and faithfully 
preached and exemplified in the pulpit, those who 

22* 



258 MISCELLANEOUS. 

seek and obtain it would be less likely to lose it during 
their early experience. 

Is it any wonder if a person lose the witness of per- 
fect love, if he be located where he finds but little 
sympathy for it, and where he does not hear more than 
a sermon or two a year on the subject, and those made 
up of indefinite generalities, such as is usually preached 
by those who do not enjoy it, or are not earnestly seek- 
ing it ? Those possessing perfect love need encourage- 
ment and the " bread of life " from the pulpit as well 
as others. 

Let sympathy in the church become as general in its 
favor as it is for justification, and let clear witnesses 
for sanctification become as numerous in the ministry 
and membership as they should be, and you will hear 
of but few losing the blessing. (See Sec. XXII. 
Ques. 120.) 

184. Is the idea that believers are entirely sanctified 
when they are justified and converted, attended with 
difficulties ? 

It is ; and the following are some of them : — 

1. If sanctification is complete in justification, then 
every man who enjoys religion is entirely sanctified. 

2. If sanctification is complete at conversion, then 
every Christian, to be truthful, should profess entire 
sanctification. 

3. If all who are converted are entirely sanctified^ 
then all the directions in the word of God, to seek holi- 
ness, sanctification, and perfect love, are given exclu- 
sively to sinners. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 259 

4. If sanctification is complete in justification, then 
converts are not to seek for any further cleansing. 

5. If sanctification is complete in justification, minis- 
ters have no right to urge Christians to " go on unto 
perfection," or to seek holiness, or to " cleanse them- 
selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfect- 
ing holiness in the fear of God." 

6. If justification and entire sanctification are insep- 
arable, then all who feel the fruits of the flesh are in a 
state of condemnation. 

7. If a state of entire sanctification is consistent 
with the struggles of pride, unbelief, impatience, jeal- 
ousy, and anger, (the common experience of newly- 
iustified believers,) must we not infer that these must 
go with us to heaven ? as it must be admitted that 
entire sanctification fits the soul for heaven. 

8. If sanctification is complete at conversion, then 
every man who is not entirely sanctified is a child of 
the devil. 

9. If entire sanctification is complete at justification, 
it is so in opposition to the experience of the whole 
church of God, and, with slight exceptions, the whole 
mass. of the Christian world have been seriously mis- 
taken during two thousand years. 

10. If all that are regenerate are wholly sanctified, 
then, whoever is convicted for full salvation, and groan- 
ing after it, is at once to infer that he was never con- 
verted, oi that he is now backslidden. Thus would this 
neresy, if received, perplex and harass with perpetual 
difficulties and discouragements the very members of 



260 MISCELLANEOUS. 

the church who are most deeply concerned to possess 
all the mind that was in Christ. 

A system involving such difficulties can not be re- 
ceived as the truth of God, and should be avoided as 
anti-scriptural and anti-Wesleyan, and regarded as 
dangerous heresy. 

185. Wliat is the grand secret of holy living ? 

It is to obtain and retain the perpetual presence, full- 
ness, and illumination of the Holy Ghost. " He shall 
abide with you forever ." 

1. He will subdue your lusts and propensities. 
" Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts 
of the flesh." 

2. He will impart liberty. " Where the Spirit of the 
Lord is, there is liberty." 

3. He reveals the things of Christ. " He shall re- 
ceive of mine and show it unto you." " He shall tes- 
tify of me." 

4. He presents the truth of God and the things of 
God to the mind. " The sword of the Spirit is the 
word of God." " Even so the things of God knoweth 
no man, but the Spirit of God." " But God hath re- 
vealed them unto us by his Spirit." 

5. He imparts light and wisdom. "He shall lead 
you unto all truth." 

6. He sustains in the hour of affliction. "And ho 
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide 
with you forever." 

7 He imparts the virtues of a holy character. " The 



MISCELLANEOUS. 261 

fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, 
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.' 7 

8. He gives the witness of adoption and salvation 
" The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are 
the children of God." 

9. He imparts the divine image — the heavenly 
signet — to the soul. " Ye are sealed with the Holy 
Spirit of promise." 

10. He is the source and author of all love to God. 
" The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the 
Holy Ghost which is given unto us." 

11. He is the source of strength and success. " Not 
by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the 
Lord of hosts." 

12. His presence and work make the soul a temple, 
sacred to the service of God. " Know ye not that ye 
are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God 
dwelleth in you ? If any man defile the temple of God, 
him shall God destroy ; for the temple of God is holy, 
which temple ye are." 

Be careful, my dear reader, and not grieve the Spirit, 
but " work out your own salvation, with fear and trem 
bling ; for it is God which worketh in you, both to will 
and to do of his own good pleasure." 

'* Come, Holy Ghost, all- quickening fire, 

Come, and in me delight to rest ; 
Drawn by the lure of strong desire, 

O, come, and consecrate my breast. 
The temple of my soul prepare, 
And tix thy sacred presence there," 



282 MISCELLANEOUS. 

186. Will you give some questions^ as helps to self 
examination ? 

1. Did I rise this morning with a grateful sense of 
the goodness of God ? 

2. Did I offer myself anew to him in consecration ? 

3. Do I deny myself at all times, and take up my 
cross, as the Spirit of the Lord leads me ? 

4. Is the life I live by the faith of the Son of God, so 
that Christ dwelleth in me ? 

5. Do I feel any pride ? or am I partaker of the 
meek and lowly mind that was in Jesus ? 

6. Am I firm and resolute in duty ? and does any 
part of my time run to waste ? 

7. Have I always the presence of God ? and am I 
saved from the fear of man ? 

8. Am I improving all my opportunities for doing or 
getting good ? 

9. Am I just, — doing in all things as I would others 
should do unto me ? 

10. Do I indulge in evil speaking to any extent ? 
Do I mention the faults of any in their absence ? 

11. Am I becoming more scrupulous ; and do 1 
faithfully listen to the whispers of conscience ? 

12. Do I love the searching means of grace ? Doe? 
plain dealing in the pulpit find sympathy in my heart V 

13. Have I meekness ? Am I poor in spirit ? Am 
I temperate in all things ? 

14. Do I daily search the Scriptures ? and has the 
reading of the Scriptures profited me ? 



MISCELLANEOUS. 263 

15. Am I now fully consecrated to God ? and now 
trusting him for a present and full salvation ? 

16. Have I the witness of the Spirit, testifying to the 
sanctification of my soul ? 

17. Have I the fruits of the Spirit without alloy ? 
and am I now breathing out love, and gratitude, and 
praise ? 

18. Have I sweet, sensible communion with God 
now ? and is my soul now resting in Jesus ? 

President Edwards says, " Slothfulness in the service 
of God is as damning' as open rebellion" 



**64 MAKING A HOBBY OP HOLINESS. 

SECTION TWENTY-THIRD. 

MAKING A HOBBY OF HOLINESS. 

187. How does opposition to holiness usually man 
if est itself among professors of religion ? 

Often by sneers and taunts in regard to those who 
advocate and profess it. " He is one of the sanctified 
ones." " He makes a hobby of holiness." How often 
we hear these and kindred declarations in reference to 
those who profess and preach holiness, and urge be- 
lievers who are but partially sanctified to press after 
" the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ." 
It is so common to hear the advocates and professors 
of holiness accused of making a hobby of it, and this 
accusation is to my mind so objectionable, as to de- 
mand a passing notice. 

That some may go to an unwarrantable extreme in 
regard to the subject of Christian holiness, we admit, 
and believe it to be a source of grief to all the true 
friends of holiness. Untimely, unintelligent, and over 
action, we think injurious to any cause. Nevertheless, 
I fully believe where there is one thus chargeable in 
regard to this subject, there are fifty who fail to obtain 
the blessing, and live below their privilege and duty. 
I think there are serious objections to this accusation, 
as commonly made against the friends of holiness ; and 
I invite your attention to the following : — 

1. To make a hobby of holiness really is both rational 



MAKING A HOBBY OF HOLINESS. 2G5 

and scriptural. Dr. Webster, who is good authority, 
defines a hobby as follows : " Any favorite object of 
pursuit." " That which a person pursues with zeal 01 
delight." In the sense of Mr. Webster's definition, 
every Christian should make a hobby of holiness. But 
this is far from the sense in which it is commonly used 
among us. In its proper sense it would be a commen- 
dation rather than a taunt. 

2. To say a man makes holiness a hobby is the same 
as saying he makes a hobby of religion. What is en- 
tire sanctification or holiness but religion in full gospel 
measure ? Those who accuse their brethren of making 
a hobby of holiness do not mean this, and they should 
say what they mean. They deny making any thrusts 
at holiness, and say they are not opposed to it ; but 
" the Lord knoweih them that are his." 

3. This accusation breathes a spirit of opposition to 
the teachings of the discipline of the church. The 
discipline says, u Let your motto be, Holiness to the 
Lord." This is to the point, and is good authority. 

4. It is manifestly in opposition to the declaration 
of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
They say, " We believe that God's design in raising up 
the preachers called Methodists, in America, was to re- 
form the continent, and spread scriptural holiness over 
these lands." This has been subscribed by all our 
bishops, from Asbury to the present time. 

5. It is indicative of a heart unfriendly to the Wes- 
leyan theory and Bible doctrine of entire sanctification 
as a distinct blessing to be received subsequently to 

23 



288 MAKING A HOBBY OF HOLINESS. 

regeneration. Let any man preach the Wesleyan doc- 
trine of perfection, " constantly, strongly, and explicitly" 
and he will incur the censure of these accusers of the 
brethren. 

6. If I mistake not, this accusation is usually made 
by those whose experience in regard to the blessing of 
entire sanctification is indefinite, uncertain, and ambig- 
uous. It comes from those who are not walking in the 
light of perfect love, and who neither profess it nor 
give evidence of enjoying it. 

7. This taunting accusation serves to quiet the con- 
victions and groanings of many who see and feel their 
need of a clean heart. It is to be feared that the cry 
of hobbyism frightens multitudes away from the pursuit 
of holiness. 

8. The point of great danger, in regard to this sub- 
ject, is not that men will make too much of it, and 
overdo the matter, (though this may be done,) but that 
they will fait to come up to the Bible standard of 
Christian privilege and duty. While there may be 
found occasionally one who overdoes the thing, the 
great mass neglect it altogether. And over-action on 
this subject is less harmful than no action at all in re- 
gard to it, or than opposition to it. — " A living dog is 
better than a dead lion" 

9. This accusation is now made mainly by persons 
within the pale of the Methodist church itself. The 
time was when the early Methodist preachers had 
plenty of this kind of treatment from without the 
Methodist church. They were accused of making a 



MAKING A HOBBY OF HOLINESS. 267 

hobby of " free grace " and of u full salvation" by 
the opponents of those doctrines in other churches. 
Now, while that kind of opposition from abroad has 
well nigh ceased, we have an abundance of it at home. 
Is this just as it should be ? 

10. Christian holiness and its friends find an abun- 
dance of opposition in the depraved hearts of the un- 
converted, and in those professing Christians who reject 
the doctrine altogether, without an ambush fire of this 
kind from their professed friends. 

Let me ask, in the language of John Wesley, " Why 
have the preachers of it been hooted at like mad dogs, 
even by men that fear God, nay, and by some of their 
own children, some whom they, under God, have be- 
gotten through the gospel ? " 

Rev. Abel Stevens says, " Ministers who profess aud 
preach holiness have to encounter suspicion, denuncia- 
tion, theological and ecclesiastical ostracism," And 
he asks, " Is it not time that this thing was not only 
abandoned, but regarded with shame and penitence ? " 

11. It is manifestly inconsistent with the life and 
principles of the early Methodists. How would such 
a taunt sound from the lips of John Fletcher, or Wil- 
liam Bramwell, or John Nelson, or from that great and 
good man, John Wesley ? — who said, " Therefore all 
our preachers should make a point of preaching per- 
fection to believers, constantly, strongly, and ex- 
plicitly ; and all believers should mind this one things 
mil constantly agonize for it." 

Whoever read* or heard of Wesley or Fletcher accus- 



268 MAKING A HOBBY OF HOLINESS. 

ing or reproving any body for making a hobby of holi- 
ness ? Wesley said to all his preachers, " Let your 
motto be, Holiness to the Lord." He closed his 
section in the Discipline, on the " Matter and Manner 
of Preaching," as follows : " Let us strongly and closely 
insist upon inward and outward holiness in all its 
branches" 

He declared holiness " the peculiar doctrine committed 
to our trust" and for this he suffered the greatest op- 
probrium. For this peculiarity Methodism has ever 
been regarded as objectionable by several of our sister 
denominations. 

Wesley never accused even George Bell of making a 
hobby of holiness. He reproved Bell and others for 
mischievous extravagances, but never for making a 
hobby of perfect love. 

12. It tends to prevent the subject of holiness from 
receiving that prominence in ministerial labor which 
its interests and importance demand. Many of our 
preachers know, if they follow the direction of Wesley, 
and preach a dozen sermons a year on holiness, and 
urge believers to seek it, they will be regarded as riding 
the hobby of holiness. Whether this leads any to 
preach less upon the subject than they should, and less 
than they otherwise would, God knows. 

13. The Bible gives prominence to the subject of 
holiness. All the standards of Methodism — the Disci- 
pline and the Hymn Book — give prominence to it. 
Why, then, is it censurable for a minister to give it 
prominence in pulpit and pastoral labor ? It is undo 



MAKING A HOBBY OF HOLINESS. 2G9 

friable that multitudes in our ministry but seldom 
preach a sermon specifically on the subject of holiness, 
notwithstanding thousands in the church are but par- 
tially sanctified, and the church is suffering for the 
want of purity and power. 

I believe there is a class of temporizing, tobacco 
chewing, and cigar-smoking ministers getting into the 
pulpit, who neither preach nor enjoy much religion, 
but are ever ready to utter this accusation against any 
who may profess or preach Christian holiness. This 
manifest and unhappy fact can not be 'palliated or 
concealed by the stale, silly, and unmeaning cry of 
" Croaker ! " 

If I address any such, let me suggest to you the fol- 
lowing interrogations : — 

1. What is the grand object of Christianity ? — Holi- 
ness. 

2. For what did Jesus shed his precious blood ? — 
" Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us 
from all iniquity." 

3. What is the great present want of the church and 
of the world ? — Holiness. 

4. What will fully prepare men for the responsibili- 
ties, trials, and duties of probation ? — Holiness. 

5. What constitutes the great prerequisite for heaven ? 
— Holiness. 

6. Do I enjoy the blessing of Christian holiness ? 

7. When I was ordained to the work of the ministry, 
I declared I was groaning after it. Have my groans been 
turned into shouts of victory ? or am I still groaning ? 

23* 



270 MAKING A HOBBY OF HOLINESS. 

or have my groans given place to indifference or opposi- 
tion ? 

8. How many times have I preached upon the sub- 
ject of holiness specifically during the past year ? 

9. How many believers have been led into the light of 
perfect love under my ministry ? 

10. Am I following Mr. Wesley's advice, and do 1 
make " Holiness to the Lord "my motto, and " preach 
perfection to believers constantly, strongly, and ex- 
plicitly ? " 

11. If myself and so many others do not enjoy it, and 
are almost silent upon the subject, ought I to find fault 
with those who are following the Discipline and the ad- 
vice of Wesley, and are trying to do the best they can 
to give due prominence to the subject, and lead the church 
of God up to her glorious privilege and solemn duty ? 

12. Is it right for ministers of Christ to deliver every 
year a long series of sermons or lectures upon " the Life 
of Christ," or " the Prophets," or " the Apostles," or 
" the Book of Romans," or " the Epistles," &c. ? If so, 
is it wrong for a faithful Methodist preacher to present 
from six to a dozen sermons a year on the subject of 
personal holiness ? Is it right in the one case to regard 
the minister as a symmetrical preacher, and accuse the 
other of making a hobby of holiness , and of being a man 
of one idea ? Judge ye ! (See Sec. XIV.) 



WEARING JEWELRY AND COSTLl ARRAY. 271 

SECTION TWENTY-FOURTH. 

WEARING JEWELRY AND COSTLY ARRAY. 

188. Is there any harm in the putting on, 01 tht 
wearing-, of jewelry or costly array? 

As thousands in the church of God, and many mil*- 
isters and their families, are drifting away from the 
old landmarks on this subject, you will allow me to 
answer you somewhat at length. We present the fol- 
lowing objections to this practice : — 

1. It is positively and distinctly forbidden in the 
Scriptures. 

" In like manner, also, that women adorn themselves 
in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety, 
NOT with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly 
array, but (which becometh women professing godli- 
ness) with good works." " Whose adorning let it not 
be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of 
wearing of gold, and putting on of apparel" " Love 
not the ivorld, neither the things that are in the 
world." " If any man love the world, the love of the 
Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the 
lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the 
pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the woild." 

"I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies 
of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, 
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable 
service. And be not conformed to this world* but be 



272 WEARING JEWELRX 

ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye 
may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and per 
feet will of God." 

Aim at obeying and pleasing God, reader, and all 
your ornaments, if you have them, will drop off at once, 

2. It can not be put on or worn in the name of the 
Lord Jesus, or to the glory of God. 

The command of God is, " Whatsoever ye do in word 
or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving 
thanks unto God and the Father by him." Can any 
one put on jewelry in the name of the Lord Jesus, and 
give thanks to God for it ? " Whatsoever ye do, do it 
heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" 

3. It is a violation of the Discipline of the church. 

" Quest. Should we insist on the rules concerning 
dress ? " 

" Arts. By all means. This is no time to encourage 
superfluity in dress. Therefore let all our people be 
exhorted to conform to the spirit of the apostolic pre- 
cept, ' not to adorn themselves with gold, and pearls, 
and costly array.' (1 Tim. ii. 9.)" One of the 
items of prohibition in the " General Rules," is, " the 
putting on of gold and costly array." 

4. It is a violation of baptismal and sacramental 
vows. 

" Quest. Dost thou renounce the devil and all his 
works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all 
covetous desires of the same, so that thou wilt not fol- 
low or be led by them ? 

"Ans. I renounce them all." - Discipline. It vio- 



AND COSTLY ARRAY. 273 

lates the most solemn vows made at conversion, bap- 
tism, and around the table of the Lord. 

5. It causes a professor of religion to falsify his pro- 
fession. 

Christians profess that they are u not of the world ; " 
that they are " pilgrims and strangers ; " that they seek 
"a city which hath foundations ;" that they are " cruci- 
fied unto the world, and the world unto them;" that 
they are " dead, indeed, unto sin, but alive unto God ; " 
that they are laying up " treasures in heaven ; " that 
they have no fellowship with the " unfruitful works of 
darkness ; " and that they are not " conformed to this 
world, but transformed by the renewing of" the mind. 
The wearing of gold and " costly array " in eflfect con- 
tradicts all this. 

6. It is both a sign and a fruit of pride. 

A lady once asked a clergyman " whether he consid- 
ered such a practice as an evidence of pride." He 
replied with as much philosophy as point, " Sheep nev- 
er appear in wolves' clothing, and he that wears the 
wolfs skin is a wolf." 

7. It is a violation of the rule of Christian propriety. 
There is not a physical law of our being, or of 

beauty, modesty, usefulness, or happiness, which de- 
mands it. It chills the sympathies, hardens the heart, 
degrades the mind, and is evidence of either a vitiated 
taste, a shallow mind, or a vain and corrupt heart. 

8. It squanders the means which God has given for 
better purposes, and for which he will hold every one 
to the most strict accountability. 



274 WEARING JEWELRY 

Men are stewards of the Lord's treasures, and have 
nothing, absolutely nothing, in their own right. Every 
shilling which you save from ornaments with gold, or 
pearls, or costly array, you may expend in clothing the 
naked and relieving the poor, whom ye " have always 
with you." Therefore every shilling which you need- 
lessly spend in decoration y is in effect stolen from God 
and the poor. 

9. It serves to engender pride, excite unhallowed 
passions and love for the gilded gewgaws of a depraved 
world. Dr. Adam Clarke says, " Were religion out 
of ihe question, common sense would say, Be decent, 
be moderate and modest. 9 ' 

It not only cultivates and develops the passion of 
display, but it excites envy, jealousy, evil speaking, 
covetousness, hypocrisy, hatred, and discontent. It 
increases fearfully the love of the world. Every action 
has a tendency to make you love the world more, or 
Christ better ; and no action can increase our love for 
both. The wearing of gold either increases or lessens 
our piety. Which does it do ? 

10. It helps to establish a false and pernicious stand- 
ard of taste. 

Christians have no right to conform to the irrational 
and sinful customs of a frantic world ; they should be 
models of neatness, economy, and plainness. 

11. It leads to extravagance, dishonesty, youthful 
dissipation, and domestic broils. " Thou shalt not 
follow the multitude to do evil." This sin \s a dis* 



* AND COSTLY ARRAY. 275 

tinguishing mark of the multitude who throng the way 
to hell. 

12. It misspends time. 

There is sufficient time spent every year, by every 
person who bows to the goddess of fashion, to pray a 
dozen souls into heaven. This practice perverts the 
Judgment, creates habits of sinful indulgence, and eats 
out all spiritual vitality in multitudes of professing 
Christians. 

13. It furnishes the world with an argument against 
Christianity. 

The world know how Christians ought to live. They 
can see a sad inconsistency in Christians decorating 
themselves with the extravagant trappings of modern 
fashion. They know the exterior of many professing 
Christians brands their profession with hypocrisy. 

Christians should so dress as to show that their 
minds are occupied with nobler objects. Their exter- 
nal appearance should evince gravity, simplicity, decen- 
cy, and modesty. They should dress neatly, plainly, 
and suitably to persons professing godliness. 

While we claim that jewelry and gaudy attire are 
inconsistent with the marks of genuine piety, we do 
not claim that plainness in dress, and freedom from 
outward adornment, constitute the Christian. 

14. Take the following from Mr. Wesley's sermon on 
dress, in conclusion : — 

" I call heaven and earth to witness this day, that it 
is not my fault. The trumpet has not ' given an uncer- 
tain sound ' for nearly fifty years last past. God j 



276 WEARING JEWELRY AND COSIT/T ARRAY. 

thou knowest I have borne a clear and a faithful testi- 
mony. In print, in preaching, in meeting the societies^ 
I have not shunned to declare the whole counsel of 
God. I am therefore clear of the blood of those who 
will not hear ; it lies upon their own heads. 

" / conjure you all who have any regard for me, 
show me before I go hence, that I have not labored, 
even in this respect, in vain for near half a century." 

that those ministers and their families who are 
indulging in this practice, and yet bear the name of 
Methodists, would have respect enough to their venera- 
ble and godly founder to take the advice of his mature 
age, and indulge no more in these forbidden follies ! 

The church is in great danger of drifting away from 
her primitive simplicity and spirituality, and of becom- 
ing conformed to the world, and ought not to receive 
any license for so doing from the lips 01 practice of hoi 
ministry. 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 277 

SECTION TWENTF-FIFTH. 

THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

189. Are there objections to the habit of chewing 

and smoking- tobacco ? 

There are ; and I present the following : — 

1. We are divinely commanded to " deny ourselves," 
to " keep the body under," to " abstain from all ap- 
pearance of evil," and " cleanse ourselves from all filth- 
iness of the flesh and spirit." The Christian's body 
is a " temple of the Holy Ghost," and he has no right 
to pollute it with any thing filthy or poisonous. 

2. It is an unseemly , uncleanly , unnatural, unneces- 
sary, unhealthy, offensive, and unpleasant habit. 

It pollutes the very earth and atmosphere of Amer- 
ica, habituating our young men early and effectually 
to bow down their necks to the grievous yoke of the 
world, the flesh, and the devil. 

3. Its general accompaniments are any thing buf 
good. It is usually associated with whiskey bottles 
low groggeries, profanity, and all manner of rowdyism 
Only think ! to see ministers of the holy gospel of God r 
while at Conference, or on their charges, or elsewhere, 
going into a low, infectious dram shop, or up to a tav- 
ern-bar, to fill an odoriferous tobacco-box, or to pur- 
chase cigars ! 

How would the h^ly Jesus, or the apostle Paul, or 
the great Wesley, or the saintly Fletcher, have appeared 

24 



278 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

with a tobacco-box in his pocket or a cigai in his 
mouth ? 

4. The general voice of the deeply pious has ever 
been against it as a filthy, low, degrading, wicktd 
practice. 

1. The Ohio Conference, one of the largest and most 
influential in our church, passed the following at ita 
last session : " Whereas the use of tobacco is a great 
evil, and leads to other evils ; therefore, Resolved by 
the Ohio Conference, That after the present session, 
we will not receive any person into full connection who 
persists in the use of tobacco." 

2. The West Wisconsin Conference, at its last ses- 
sion, adopted the following : — 

"Resolved, That we hail as a triumph the numerous 
instances in our own and sister Conferences and 
churches the decided stand against this crying evil, 
believing that it is the utterance of a just and elevated 
Christian sentiment, which, if faithfully followed up, 
will drive the habit from society. 

" Resolved, That we earnestly and affectionately en- 
treat all our preachers and people to abstain from this 
unclean practice. 

" Resolved, That we request Quarterly Conferences, 
presiding elders, and preachers in charge not to recom- 
mend any man to the traveling connection who is in 
the habit of using tobacco, unless he first give satisfac- 
tory evidence that he will at once break it off. 

" Resolved, That all our brethren now on trial in 
the traveling connection, who are in the habit of 



THE USE OF TOBACCO. 279 

rising tobacco, be solemnly entreated and most affec- 
tionately yet firmly required to renounce the habit 
before they are received into full connection." 

3. The General Conference of the Wesleyan Church, 
at a late session, gives, its testimony as follows: "We 
regard the ordinary use of tobacco as being in an em- 
inent degree pernicious, and in many of its deleterious 
effects on the human family as being but little inferior 
to the use of alcohol itself. 

" We are convinced that the gospel of Jesus Christ 
has not been permitted to exert the full measure of 
its purifying and ennobling influences on the professor 
of religion while he continues the common use of this 
filthy and poisonous narcotic. 

" We therefore earnestly solicit as many of our min- 
isters and members as are slaves to this too common 
and degrading practice, to abandon, once and forever, 
this ' filthiness of the flesh and superfluity of naughti- 
ness,' and to come up to the dignity, the usefulness, 
and fullness of stature of men and women in Christ 
Jesus." 

5. It is attended with much and needless expense. 

The present annual production of tobacco' is esti- 
mated to be 4,000,000,000 pounds. This is all smoked, 
chewed, or snuffed. Trask's Anti-Tobacco Journal 

m 

states that the clergy of the United States costs an- 
nually $6,000,000; tobacco, 140,000,000; and rum, 
1100,000,000. 

It is estimated that $10,000 worth of cigars are 
smoked in the city of New York every day. If this 



280 THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

estimate is correct, and if the rest of the United States 
expend for tobacco, in all its forms, but one half as 
much as New York, the yearly loss to the whole United 
States is no less than $100,000,000. At $7 per barrel 
for flour, this would purchase 14,285,714 barrels of 
flour. If man could live on bread alone, this would 
support the whole population of the Union. Compare 
the expense of tobacco with the amount raised for 
missionary and benevolent purposes by the whole Prot< 
estant church of America, and the result is sickening 
6. We will conclude this unpleasant subject by the 
following from the pen of that great and good man — 
Adam Clarke, LL. D., F. S. A., &c. : — 

1. " Every medical man knows well that the saliva 
which is so copiously drained off by the infamous quid 
and the scandalous pipe is the first and greatest agent 
which nature employs in digesting the food. 

2. " A single drop of the chemical oil of tobacco, 
being put on the tongue of a cat, produced violent con- 
vulsions, and killed her in the space of one minute. A 
thread dipped in the same oil, and drawn through a 
wound made by a needle in an animal, killed it in the 
space of" seven minutes. 

3. " That it is sinful to use it as most do I have no 
jloubt, if destroying the constitution, and vilely squan 
dering away the time and money which God has given 
for other purposes, may be termed 4 sinful.' Can any 
who call themselves Christians vindicate their conduct 
in this respect ? 

4. " The impiety manifested by several in the use oi 



THE USE OP TOBACCO. 281 

vols herb merits the most cutting reproof. When many 
of the tobacco consumers get into trouble, or under 
ai y cross or affliction, instead of looking to God for 
su pport, the pipe, the snuff-box, or the twist is applied 
to with quadruple earnestness ; so that four times (I 
might say, in some cases, ten times) the usual quantity 
is consumed on such occasions. What a comfort is 
this weed, in time of sorrow ! What a support in tims 
of trouble ! In a word, what a god ! 

l\ " I am sorry to have it to say that this idle, dis- 
graceful custom prevails much at present among min- 
isters of most denominations. -Can such persons preach 
against needless self-indulgence, destruction of time, or 
waste of money ? 

6. " The loss of time in this shameful work is a seri- 
ous evil. I have known some who, strange to tell, 
have smoked three or four hours in the day, by their 
own confession ; and others who have spent six hours 
in the same employment. How can such persons an- 
swer for this at the bar of God ? 

7. " Consider how disagreeable your custom is to 
those who do not follow it. An atmosphere of tobacco 
effluvium surrounds you whithersoever you go. Every 
article about you smells of it — your apartments, your 
clothes, and even your very breath. 

8. " To those who are not yet incorporated with the 
fashionable company of tobacco consumers I would say, 
i Never enter.' To those who are entered, I would say, 
' Desist, first, for the sake of your health, which must 
De materially injured, if not destroyed, by it ; secondly , 

24* 



282 . THE USE OF TOBACCO. 

for the sake of your property, which, if you are a poor 
man, must be considerably impaired by it ; third/?/, for 
the sake of your time, a large portion of which is irrep- 
arably lost, particularly in smoking ; fourthly, for the 
sake of jour friends, who can not fail to be pained in 
your company, for the reasons before assigned; lastly, 
for the sake of your soul. Do you not think that GocJ 
will visit you for your loss of time, waste of money 
and needless self-indulgence ? " 



ENTHUSIASM, CONFUSION, ETC. 283 

SECTION TWENTY-SIXTH. 

ENTHUSIASM, CONFUSION, SHOUTING, FALLING, &c. 

190. Have ive reason to believe that the world will 
ever regard the Bible standard of religion otherwise 
than as wild fanaticism ? 

No ; this blind, ungodly world has always accounted 
religion as madness and frenzy. The apostles were 
called " babblers " and " fools," and said to be " mad," 
" drunk," and " beside themselves." Christ was ac- 
cused of being possessed of devils. Luther was styled 
a heretic. Wesley, Whitefield, and their coadjutors, 
were called fools, fanatics, and enthusiasts. 

Rev. William Burkitt says, " Wicked and carnal 
men account and represent the holy servants of God as 
a sort of madmen. Workings of grace are sometimes 
so far above reason that they seem to be ivithovb 
reason. There are several acts of holiness which the 
profane world esteem as madness ; as eminent self- 
denial, great seriousness in religion, their burning zeal, 
their holy singularity, their fervor of devotion, their 
patience and meekness under sufferings and reproaches. 
All these acts of holiness represent the saints as mad- 
men to a cafnal man." 

191. WJiat was the fate of those who presented 
Christianity in its primitive, unsullied purity ? 

To pave the way for a work of blood, this ungodly 



284 ENTHUSIASM, CONFUSION, 

world first cruelly murdered God's innocent and lovel/ 
Son — drove him out of the world. 

1. Matthew is supposed to have suffered martyrdom 
by the sword at a city in Ethiopia. 

2. Mark was dragged through the streets of Alexan 
dria, in Egypt, until he expired. 

3. Luke was hanged upon an olive tree in Greece. 

4. John was put into a caldron of boiling oil, at 
Rome, and escaped death. He afterward died a nat- 
ural death at Ephesus, in Asia. 

5. James the Great, after suffering great persecution, 
was beheaded at Jerusalem. 

6. James the Less was thrown from a pinnacle, or 
wing of the temple, and then beaten to death with a 
fuller's club. 

7. Philip was hanged up against a pillar at Hierap- 
olis, a city of Phrygia. 

8. Bartholomew was flayed alive by the command of 
a barbarous king. 

9. Andrew was bound to a cross, where he preached 
to the people till he expired. 

10. Thomas was run through the body by a lance 
aear Malipar, in the East Indies. 

11. Jude was shot to death with arrows. 

12. Simon Zelotes was crucified in Persia. 

13. Matthias was first stoned, and afterward be- 
nead3d. 

14. Peter was crucified with his head downward. 

15. Paul, the last and chief of the apostles, also died 
by violence. He was beheaded at Rome. 



SHOUTING, FALLING, ETC. 285 

192. Wliat is real fanaticism ? 

It is looking for given results without the Lse of 
proper means. It is going it blind. God has joined 
the end and the means together, and it is fatally fanat- 
ical to expect pardon, holiness, and heaven, without 
prayer, repentance, faith, and obedience. 

Fanaticism is being governed by imagination rather 
than by judgment. It proceeds from a satanical or de- 
ceived heart, and is often accompanied with a blind, 
extravagant zeal. It is usually impregnated with er- 
ror, bigotry, and party rage. This is fanaticism ; the 
devil is its progenitor ; and those who imagine they are 
Christians when they are not are its worst subjects. 

193. Does the Bible countenance shouting and 
praising the Lord with a loud voice ? 

The Bible says, " Let the inhabitants of the rock 
sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains." 
" And all the people shouted with a great shout when 
they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the 
house of the Lord was laid. . . , When the foundation 
of this house was laid before their eyes, many wept 
with a loud voice, and many shouted aloud for joy ; so 
that the people could not discern the noise of the shout 
of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; 
for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise 
was heard afar off" 

" For the whole multitude of the disciples began to 
praise God with a loud voice." " If these should hold 
their peace, the stones would immediately cry out" 



286 

" 0, clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God 
with the voice of triumph." 

Many kindred passages might be quoted ; but not 
one where God 'either condemns or forbids it. 

I do not know how some of our modern lovers of 
good order will like this, but it is permission to shout 
from head-quarters. God says, " Let the villages that 
Kedar doth inhabit lift up their voices" And, " Let 
them shout from the top of the mountains." He does 
not say when these poor sons of the desert shall hear the 
joyful news of the Saviour's life, death, and resurrection, 
and get their wandering feet on the Rock of Ages ; but he 
gives permission when it does take place, and their hearts 
begin to dilate with love to the Lord Jesus, to shout. 

Shouting is not an empty sound, but a deep spiritual 
joy welling up from the ocean depth of the soul. It 
is the outward expression of inward victories greater 
than Alexander ever achieved. He never conquered 
himself. 

I do not advocate the doctrine that all people must 
shout. I only say as God says, " Let the inhabitants 
of the rock shout." Who has authority to stop them ? 
Soldiers shout, sailors shout, politicians shout, and the 
angels shout, and why may not the Christian shout ? 
Has he no cause to shout ? 

I admit there are a great many excellent Christians 
who never shout. I presume, however, many of them 
often feel like shouting, and would occasionally, if they 
dared to ; or if they did not know that it would be re 
garded as insufferably out of order. 



SHOUTING, FALLING, ETC 287 

There are many professors of religion, ic may be 
feared, who have nothing to shout for ; and if they were 
to shout it would be only an empty sound — " sound* 
ing brass or a tinkling cymbal." There is as much dif- 
ference in shouting as in any thing else ; as much as 
between the rattling of an empty wagon, and the deep, 
full tones of an organ. It requires a good deal of re- 
ligion to make an honest shout. 

There is a beautiful variety in the natural world- — 
mountains and valleys, the gentle breeze and the sweep- 
ing tornado, sunbeams and the flashes of lightning, the 
singing of birds and the rolling of thunder. 

There is iust as great a variety in the spiritual world. 
When the grace of God reaches some hearts it will show 
its power by shouts of victory. Some will iveep, gome 
will laugh, some will leap, and some will feel so quiet 
they will hardly want to breathe. There is a great va- 
riety of operations by the same Spirit, and all our con- 
ventionalities must give way to the will and power of 
God. We can not work by an iron rule in praising God. 

A striking and beautiful variety is seen in the effects 
of the miracles of Christ and of the apostles. Blind 
Eartimeus, after he was healed, followed Jesus giving 
glory to God. Simon Peter's wife's mother, after she 
w r as healed, went about her domestic duties. The man 
who lived in the tombs, possessed of the devil, after lie 
was healed, 'sat down at Jesus feet, clothed and in his 
right mind. At the transfiguration of Christ, Peter and 
John/-?// on their faces, and declared it was good for 
them to be there. After the poor cripple, lying at the 



288 ENTHUSIASM, CONFUSION, 

gate called Beautiful, was healed, he leaped and praised 
God. Peter did not stop him, but he let him try his 
new strength ; he had been a poor cripple all his life. 
Thus it should be with the converted soul. 

194. Does the Bible countenance responses in reli- 
gious worship ? 

It does. " And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great 
God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen." 
" Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting 
to everlasting ; and let all the people say, Amen." 
" How shall he that occupieth the room of the un- 
learned say, Amen, at thy giving of thanks, seeing he 
understandeth not what thou sayest ? " 

St.* John declares he heard them shouting and re- 
sponding in heaven, "saying, Amen; blessing, and 
glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and 
poiver, and might be unto our God forever and ever. 
Amen" Whatever is done in heaven is in good taste, 
in good older, and right. 

195. Does the Bible countenance physical prostra- 
tion, and ivhat may appear to carnal men as confu- 
sion ? 

Paul and Silas were charged with turning the world 
upside down, and I presume they never denied the 
charge. When God met Abraham, and made the 
great promise to him, " Abraham fell on his face 
and laughed." Although he "fell on his face and 
laughed," yet the apostle says, " lie staggered not at 



SHOUTING, FALLING, ETC. 289 

the promise of God through unbelief, but was stiong 
in faith, giving glory to God." 

The Psalmist says, " When the Lord turned again 
the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 
Then was our mouth filled luith laughter, and our 
tongue with singing" 

When Moses and Aaron drew near and stood before 
the Lord, and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all 
the people, " all the people shouted and fell upon their 
faces" 

Job " rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell 
down upon the ground, and worshiped." This was 
doubtless regarded as wild vj or ship ; yet there was 
none like him in all the earth — " a perfect and an 
upright man." 

David, at one time, says his animal strength failed 
him. " My strength faileth me ; as for the light of 
mine eyes, it is also gone from me ; my strength faileth 
because of mine iniquity." 

Peter fell down at Jesus' feet,' (Luke v. 8 ;) the 
Grecian woman did the same ; Mary also, the sister of 
Lazarus, fell down at the feet of the blessed Jesus. 
When the Lord met Paul on his way to Damascus, he 
lost his strength, and lay prostrate on the earth, crying, 
trembling and astonished, saying, " Lord, what wilt 
thou have me to do ? " 

The redeemed fall prostrate before the throne in 
heaven, and worship God with loud voices, like the 
sound of many waters and of mighty thunderings. 



290 

196. Is there any religion in bodily prostration or 

in physical exercises ? 

Rev. Charles G. Finney says, " It is very plain thai 
bodily prostrations and agitations are no part of reli- 
gion. But it is just as plain that these may be the 
natural effect of discoveries of religious truth. Several 
instances of bodily prostration and agitations are re- 
corded in the Bible as the result of such discoveries. 

" As I have said, they are no part of religion, but 
they are very natural effects of a very high degree of 
religious affections and emotions. Nor is it true, as 
some seem to suppose, that none but what are called 
nervous people are affected in this way. 

" Bat it is also true that there is enough in religious 
truth, if clearly discovered to the mind by the Holy 
Ghost, to wilt down the bodily frame of the strongest 
man on earth. 

" Why is it at all wonderful that the infinitely solemn, 
important, and awful things of eternity, when clearly 
brought home to the minds of men, should produce 
great tremblings, and quakings, and agitations, and 
prostrations of body, with ' groanings that can not be 
uttered ' ? Nay, verily, it is not at all strange. But 
the only wonder is, that mankind are not a hundred or 
a thousand times more affected in this way than they 
really are." 

1 97. Will you present the views of the venerable 
President Edwards in regard to this subject ? 

President Edwards, for learning, piety, and philo 



SHOUTING, FALLING, ETC. 291 

sophical acumen, has had few superiors in tms country. 
His ministerial labor was blessed with one of the mighti- 
est revivals and outpourings of the Holy Spirit that has 
ever taken place on this continent. 

1. In speaking of it, he says, " It was a very frequent 
thing to see a house full of outcries, fahitings, convul- 
sions, and such like, both with distress and with admi- 
ration and joy. There were some instances of persons 
lying in a sort of trance, [what Methodists call getting 
the power,] remaining for perhaps a whole twenty-four 
hours motionless, and with their senses locked up, but 
in the mean time under strong imaginations, as though 
they went to heaven, and had there a vision of glorious 
and delightful objects. 

2. " There have been some instances of persons that 
have had as great a sense of their danger and misery 
as their natures could well subsist under, so that a little 
more would probably have destroyed them. 

3. " Some persons have had such longing desires 
after Christ, which have risen to that degree as to take 
away their natural strength. Some have been so over- 
come with a sense of the dying love of Christ to such 
poor wretches and unworthy creatures, as to weaken 
the body. Several persons have had so great a sense 
of the glory of God, and the excellency of Christ, that 
nature and life have seemed almost to sink under it ; 
and in all probability, if God had showed them a 
little more of himself, it would have dissolved their 
frame. 

4. " It is remarkable considering in what a multitude 



292 ENTHUSIASM, CONFUSION, 

of instances, and to how great a degree, the frahie of 
the body has been overpowered of late, that persons 5 
lives have, notwithstanding, been preserved. 

5. " These things did not begin," he says, in his 
day. " They are not new in their kind, but are things 
of the same nature as have been found and well ap* 
proved of in the church of God before, from time to 
time." 

6. He says, in speaking of a revival in Scotland in 
1625, that " it was then a frequent thing for many to 
be so extraordinarily seized with terror in the hearing 
of the word, by the Spirit of God convincing them of 
sin, that they fell down, and were carried out of the 
church, who afterward proved most solid and lively 
Christians. 

7. " Many in Ireland, in time of a great outpouring 
of the Spirit there in 1628, were so filled with divine 
comforts, and a sense of God, that they had but little 
use of either meat, drink, or sleep, and professed that 
they did not feel the need thereof." 

8. President Edwards states " that wherever these 
most appear, there is always the greatest and deepest 
work." 

Like John Wesley, President Edwards, President 
Finney, Christmas Evans, J. B. Pinley, and George 
Whitefield, we should countenance all genuine spiritual 
demonstrations, however extraordinary, such as pros- 
trations, cries of terror, and shouts of praise, and 
condemn all who oppose and ridicule them. That 
which is false, or counterfeit, I condemn no man for 



SHOUTING, FALLING, ETC. 293 

opposing, only so that his warmth and zeal against the 
false do not disparage the true. 

In conclusion, I would refer the reader to Bangs's 
" History of the Methodist Episcopal Church," to the 
preaching of Wesley, Fletcher, Whitefield, Bramwell, 
Abbott, Oartwright, Asbury, and Lee, and to almost all 
our books of biography. 

198. Is it right to pray for bodily exercises, or 
dreams , or visions ? 

It is our duty to pray for the mighty cleansing power 
of the Holy Ghost, and let God work in his own way. 
He will not work upon our plans. We think it dan- 
gerous either to desire, expect, or pray for bodily pros- 
trations or visions. If they accompany the mighty 
descent of the Holy Ghost, well ; if not, they should 
not be sought. 

199. What is our great safeguard against delusions, 
imaginations, and satanic impulses ? 

The Bible. This is our only standard of doctrine 
and experience. We are to be Bible Christians. 

Dr. Jesse T. Peck says, " Against all visionary 
schemes of salvation, against all delusive impressions 
from adverse spirits, divine revelation is the only sure 
protection. To this the soul asking the right must 
appeal and defer, and in its explict directions there is 
perfect safety." 

We should keep close to the word of God, and never 
suppose that any measure of the Holy Spirit which we 

25* 



294 PERFECT LOVE. 

can obtain in this world will supersede the teachings 
of the blessed Bible. 

God's revealed word is the voice of the Spirit ; and 
the more completely our hearts are filled, subdued, and 
kept in the Spirit, the more perfectly we shall under- 
stand the Bible, and be able to live according to its let- 
ter and spirit. 

200. What were the extravagances which Mr. Wes- 
ley so strongly reproved in some of the professors of 
holiness ? 

" Fancying they could not be tempted ; that they 
should feel no more pain ; that they had the gift of 
prophecy and discerning of spirits." " Some five or 
six honest enthusiasts foretold the world was to end in 
a few days." — Wesley. 

With such persons Mr. Wesley had no little trouble, 
especially lest their extremes should lead others to 
neglect holiness altogether. Mr. Wesley never com- 
plained of any for making too much of the subject of 
holiness, but for running off from the subject of holi- 
ness into wild imaginations and extravagances. 



the author's experience. 295 

SEGTIJJV TWENTY-SEVENTH. 

THE AUTHOR'S EXPERIENCE. 

201. Will you relate to me your experience in re* 
g ird to regeneration and entire sanctification ? 

I will, for I feel that I owe ten thousand talents to my 
blessed Saviour, and his love constrains me to speak of 
his kind dealings with my soul at every opportunity. 

Mr. Fletcher says, " When you are solemnly called 
upon to baar testimony to the truth, and to say what 
great things God has done for you, it would be coward- 
ice or false prudence not to do it, with humility." 

It pleased the Lord to call me in early life to seek 
pardon and converting grace. I believe at ten years of 
age I first tasted the joys of redeeming grace and a 
Saviour's love. I remember as early as then to have 
realized a sweet satisfaction and delight in prayer and 
effort to obey God. 

At the age of thirteen I joined the church. Through 
the blessing and grace of God, I have found a home ever 
since in the church of my early choice. 

During the first five or six years of my experience 1 
was often perplexed and distressed with doubts in re- 
gard to the reality of my conversion ; arising from the 
fact that I could not fix upon the precise time when the 
change was wrought. I would often see people power- 
fully converted, and hear them tell of the place and the 
moment when their chains fell off, and their souls went 



296 the author's experience. 

free. The tempter would then whisper in my ear, and 
say, " You can not tell when you were converted, and 
you never had those deep convictions or those strife 
ing exercises in religious experience of which many 
speak." 

From this source I had no little trouble, and at times, 
for several years, I found it exceedingly difficult to hold 
fast my confidence. After many and severe trials on 
this point, the Lord enabled me to settle the matter ; and 
a thousand thanks to his blessed name that many years 
have passed since I have doubted for a moment the 
verity of my early conversion. * 

The Lord removed my doubts by showing me that to 
know the precise time of my conversion was of but lit- 
tle importance ; while the great question for me to set- 
tle was, Have I the evidence that I am now converted ? 

After I was led to see that to be able to know the pre- 
cise time of my conversion concerned me but little, and 
that to know that I am now in a converted state was 
my great concern, the question was soon settled by appre- 
hending the abundant evidence which God always gives 
of a state of salvation. I found it was one thing to have 
evidence of a justified, converted state, and quite another 
to apprehend and understand that evidence. 

From this, time to September 7, 1858, I maintained a 
general purpose to obey God, and received many spir- 
itual refreshings from the presence of the Lord, suffer- 
ing, but few doubts in regard to my justification and 
membership in the family of God. 

During this period I was often convicted of remain- 



the author's experience. 297 

ing corruption in my heart, and of my need of purity. 
I desired to be a decided Christian and a useful mem- 
ber of the church ; but I was often conscious of deep- 
rooted inward evils and tendencies in my heart un- 
friendly to godliness. I found my bosom foes troubled 
me more than all my foes from without. They struggled 
for the ascendency. They marred my peace. They 
obscured my spiritual vision. They were the instru- 
ments of sore temptation. They interrupted my com- 
munion with God. They crippled my efforts to do good. 
They invariably sided with Satan. They occupied a 
place in my heart which I knew should be possessed by 
the Holy Spirit. They were the greatest obstacles to 
my growth in grace, and rendered my service to God 
but partial. 

I was often more strongly convicted of my need of 
inward purity than I ever had been of my need of 
pardon. 

God often showed me the importance and necessity 
of holiness as clear as a sunbeam. J seldom studied 
the Bible without conviction of my fault in not coming 
up to the Scripture standard of salvation. 

I often commenced seeking holiness, but at no time 
made any great progress ; for as I read and prayed, some 
duty was seen to present itself which I was unwilling 
to perform, and so I relapsed into indifference. 

I never read Mr. Wesley's " Plain Account," nor any 
of the standards of Methodism on the subject of holi- 
ness, nor the memoirs of Fletcher, B ram well, Carvosso, 
Stoner, nor Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers or Lady Maxwell, 



298 THE author's experience. 

without deep conviction on the subject, and imreor 
less effcrt for its attainment. 

I now see I was often on the very point of grasping 
the prize, and then would sink back, suffer defeat, and 
another season of comparative indifference upon the 
subject. I was often led to see my need of purity while 
studying for the ministry with Rev. William Hill, of 
Cambridgeport, Yt. 

Brother Hill was an able Presbyterian minister, and 
for a number of years w r as pastor of a Presbyterian 
church in Newburg, N. Y. He became convicted of his 
need of entire sanctification, and obtained the blessing 
at a meeting for the promotion of holiness at Mrs. 
Palmer's in New York city. He lived it, professed it, 
and preached it, and for so doing was expelled from the 
Hudson River Presbytery, in April, 1844. Rev. Henry 
Belden was expelled at the same time for the same 
cause. They both united with the Congregational 
church. Brother Belden is now pastor of a church in 
Brooklyn, N. Y. ^JBrother Hill died in holy triumph at 
Bristol, Conn., July 31, 1851, in the thirty-seventh year 
of his age. 

The society and influence of that holy man were a 
great blessing to me. I think more than one hundred 
times I have bowed with him in prayer in his study, and 
held sweet communion with God. Those seasons of de- 
votion still linger in my memory as among the most 
precious hours of my early ministry. 

By being convicted so often of my need of perfect 
love, and failing to obtain it, I, after a while, (like 



THE AUTHOR S EXPERIENCE. 299 

many others, I fear,) became a little skeptical in regard 
to the Weslcyaa doctrine of entire sanctification, as a 
distinct blessing, subsequent to regeneration. (See 
Sec. II. of this book.) I had no clear or definite ideas 
in regard to the blessing of perfect love, but came to 
think of it and teach it as only a deeper work of 
grace, or a little more religion. I taught, as many do, 
a gradual growth into holiness, or modern gradualism. 
I threw the whole matter into the world of indefinite- 
ness and of vague generalities. I expected to grow 
into holiness somehow, somewhere, and at some time, 
but knew not how, nor where, nor when. I urged be- 
lievers to seek a deeper work of grace, and to get more 
religion, but seldom said to them, " Be ye holy" 
" This is the will of God, even your sanctification" or, 
seek " perfect love" 

I became somewhat prejudiced against even the Bible 
terms "sanctification" " holiness " ." perfection" and 
disliked very much to hear persons use them in speak- 
ing of their experience. I was opposed to the profes- 
sion of holiness as a distinct blessing from regenera- 
tion. 

I became prejudiced against the special advocates of 
holiness; and at camp meetings and in other places I 
felt disposed to discourage and oppose direct efforts for 
the promotion of holiness. If a pious brother ex- 
horted the preachers to seek sanctification, or the mem- 
bers to put away worldliness, tobacco, and gaudy attire, 
find seek holiness, I waf distressed in spirit, and di$ 
posed to find fault. ^ 



800 the author's experience. 

During a number of years, this was about my state 
of mind upon this subject. And let me here record, 
that while hundreds of sinners were converted to God, 
in connection with my feeble ministry, I do not recollect 
a single case of a believer being entirely sanctified un- 
der my labors during the first nine years of my minis- 
try, up to September 7, 1858. Let me further add, 
during this time I was grieved, from year to year, by 
seeing what might astonish hell, and fill heaven with 
lamentation — company after company of young con- 
verts walking into backslidden, unsanctified churches, 
first to wonder, then for a while to be grieved, but 
finally to add another layer to the backslidden stratifi- 
cation. 

In May, 1858, I was appointed to the Court Street 
Church, Binghamton. I went there much prejudiced 
against the professors of holiness in that church, and 
they were, doubtless, somewhat prejudiced against me, as 
they had cause to believe that I would oppose them on the 
subject of holiness. I soon found, in my pastoral visita- 
tions, that where those persons lived who professed the 
blessing of holiness, there I felt the most of divine in- 
fluence and power. I realized a liberty in prayer, and 
an access to God in those families, which I did not 
elsewhere. 

And let me remark, while I was prejudiced against 
holiness as a distinct blessing, and against its special 
advocates, I did desire and believe in a deep, thorough, 
vital piety, and was ready to sympathize with it wlier- 
eyer I found it. I had attended prayer and class meet- 



the author's experience. 301 

tngs but few times before I saw clearly that there j^ere 
those in that society whose experience and piety pos- 
sessed a richness, power, and depth which I had not. 

The more I became acquainted with them, the more 
I was convinced of that fact, and the more deeply I bo 
came convicted of my remaining depravity and need 
of being cleansed in the blood of Christ. I also be- 
came convinced that those professors of holiness were 
Wesleyan in their faith, experience, and practice, while 
I had drifted away somewhat from the Bible and Wes- 
leyan theory of Christian perfection. 

Through the entire summer of 1858 I was seeking 
holiness, but kept the whole matter to myself. During 
this time none of the professors of holiness said any 
thing to me on the subject, but, as I have learned 
since, were praying for me night and day. God only 
knew the severe struggles I had that long summer, 
during many hours of which I lay on my face in my 
study, begging for Jesus to cleanse my poor, unsanc- 
tilled heart ; and yet I felt unwilling to make a public 
avowal of my feelings, or to ask the prayers of God's 
people for my sanctification. 

The Bingham ton district camp meeting commenced 
that year the 1st day of September. About eighty of 
the members of my charge went with me to that meet- 
ing. During six days of the meeting, the sanctification 
of my soul was before my mind constantly, and yet 1 
neither urged others to seek it, nor intimated to any 
one my convictions and struggles on the subject. The 
result was, six days of such deep humiliation, severe 

26 



302 THE author's experience. 

distress, and hard struggles as I never had endured 
before. 

A number of the members present from my charge 
had once enjoyed the blessing, and had lost it. Some 
who professed to enjoy it were becoming silent upon 
the subject. With but very few exceptions, we, as a 
church, were practically staving off and ignoring the 
doctrine and duty of entire sanctification. The Loid 
was evidently displeased with us, and so shut us up 
that our prayer meetings, in our large society tent, 
literally ran out. The brethren and sisters became 
tried with themselves, and tried with each other. 
Some of them were even tempted to strike their tents 
and go home. 

On the last evening of the meeting, a faithful mem- 
ber of the church came to me weeping, a few minutes 
before preaching, and said, " Brother Wood, there is no 
use in trying to dodge this question. You know your 
duty, and may as well commence seeking holiness first 
as last. If you w r ill lead the way, and define your 
position as a seeker of entire sanctification, you will 
find that many of the members of your charge have a 
mind to do the same." The Lord had so humbled my 
heart that I was willing to do almost any thing to ob- 
tain relief. After a few moments' reflection I replied, 
" Immediately after preaching I will appoint a meeting 
in this tent on the subject of holiness, and will ask 
the prayers of the church for my own soul." 

Glory be to God ! the Rubicon was past. In an 
instant I felt a giving away in my heart, so sensible 



THE author's experience. 303 

and powerful, that it appeared rather physical than 
spiritual. In a moment after I felt an indescribable 
sweetness permeating my entire being. It was a sweet- 
ness as real and as sensible to my soul as ever the 
sweetest honey was to my taste. I immediately walked 
up into the stand. The presiding elder requested me 
to exhort after his sermon. I replied, " I will, if the 
Lord will help." Just as he gave out his text, — Eccl. 
xii. 13, " Let us hear the conclusion of the whole 
matter," &c, — the baptism of fire and power came 
upon me. 

For me to describe what I then realized is utterly 
impossible. It was such as I need not attempt to 
describe to those who have felt and tasted it, and such 
as I can not describe to the comprehension of those 
whose hearts have never realized it. 

The most of which I was conscious was, that Jesus 
had me in his arms, and that the heaven of heavens 
was streaming through and through my soul in such 
beams of light, and overwhelming love and glory, as 
can never be uttered. The half can never be told! 

It was like marching through the gates of the city 
to the bosom of Jesus, and taking a full draught from 
the river of life. 

• Hallelujah ! Glory ! Glory ! I have cause to shout 
over the work of that precious hour. 

It was a memorable era in the history of my proba- 
tion, a glorious epoch in my religious experience — 
never, never to be forgotten. Jesus there and then — 
all glory to his blessed name ! — sweetly, completely 



304 the author's experience. 

and most powerfully sanctified my soul and body to 
himself. He melted, cleansed, filled, and thrilled my 
feeble, unworthy soul with holy, sin-consuming power. 

Glory be to God ! Perfect love is the richest, the sweet- 
est, and the purest love this side of Paradise. Angels 
have nothing better. 

Well may the poet sing, - 

" O for this love let rocks and hills* 
Their lasting silence break, 
And all harmonious human tongues 
The Saviour's praises speak ! " 

I had always been much prejudiced against persons 
losing their strength; consequently, as might be ex 
pected, when the Holy Ghost came upon me in the 
stand, surrounded by some thirty preachers, it was 
God's order to take control of both body and soul, and 
swallow me up in the great deep of his presence and 
power. 

After about three hours, I regained sufficient strength 
to walk to the tent, and we commenced a meeting for 
the promotion of holiness. I told the brethren and 
sisters my purpose to ask their prayers as a seeker of 
holiness, and that Jesus had forestalled my design by 
accepting my soul the moment I consented to stand up 
for holiness, and was willing to be any thing or do any 
thing to obtain it. 

And let me here say, that a willingness to humble 
myself, and take a decided stand for holiness, and face 
opposition to it in the church, and take the odium of 
being a professor of holiness in Binghamton, where 



THE author's experience. 305 

that doctrine had been trailing in the dust for years, 
constituted the turning point with me. After I reached 
that point I seemed to have no special consciousness 
of believing, or submitting, or of making any effort ; 
my whole being seemed simply and without effort to be 
borne away to Jesus. 

Our meeting continued all night ; and such a night 
I never experienced before. A large number of my 
leading members present commenced seeking holiness ; 
and about every half hour during that whole night the 
glorious power of God came down from the upper 
ocean in streams as sweet as heaven. At times it was 
unspeakable and almost unendurable. It was oppress- 
ingly sweet — a weight of glory. 

Every time the power of God came, one or more souls 
entered the land of Beulah, the Canaan of perfect love. 
Some shouted ; some laughed ; some wept ; and a 
large number lay prostrate from three to five hours, 
beyond the power of shouting or weeping. Hallelujah 
to the great God ! those present will never forget that 
night of refining and sanctifying power. 

What I received at the time Jesus sanctified my soul 
was only a drop in the bucket compared to what it has 
since pleased him to impart. Since that hour, the deep 
and solid communion my soul has had with God, and 
the rich baptisms of love and power, have been " un- 
speakable and full of glory." 

" O, matchless bliss of perfect love ! 
It lifts me up to things above ; 
It bears on eagles' wings ; 

26* 



306 the author's experience. 

It gives my ravished soul a feast, 
And makes me here a constant guest, 
With Jesus, priests, and kings " 

At times I have had an overwhelming sense of the 
divine presence, and a sacred unction has pervaded my 
whole being. Especially this has been my experience 
while called to profess or defend this glorious salvation. 
0, how God has stood by and helped me in vindicating 
the doctrine and profession of holiness ! I have often 
felt if there was but one man in the world to stand up 
for holiness, in God's name I would be that man. 

The divine fragrance imparted to my soul, when the 
Saviour cleansed and filled it with pure love, I have 
never lost for one hour, and I trust and pray I never 
may. The thought of that hour brings ever an inde- 
scribable sweetness in my soul. I make a record of 
this to the glory of God. Glory, honor, and eternal 
praise be to his blessed name, forever and ever ! His 
pwn arm hath brought salvation to my feeble, helpless 
soul. And I do love the Lord my God with all my 
heart, soul, and strength. Yet I am nothing, and Jesus 
is my all. Sweet portion ! the blessedness of this 
inward, spiritual kingdom ! the depths of solid peace 
my soul has felt ! It has often been 

" A sacred awe which dares not move, 
And all the silent heaven of love." 

0, to know that God is mine ; to feel that he dwells 
in my heart, rules my will, my affections, my desires ; 
to know that he loves me ten thousand times better 
than 1 love him, — 0, what solid bliss is this ! 



the author's experience. 307 

" My Jesus to know, and feel his blood flow, 
'Tis life everlasting, 'tis heaven below." 

And now, after more than six years and a half, dui> 
ing which to scrutinize and test the work of that hour, 
1 am constrained to say I know the blood of Jesus can 
cleanse from all sin. I say this with a profound sense 
of my feebleness and unworthiness ; for, — 

" 'Tis mercy all, immense and free, 
For O, my God, it found out me." 

that I could describe the feelings of gratitude in 
my heart to God for past mercies, present favors, and 
future prospects. 

Well may the poet exclaim, — 

11 O, how can words with equal warmth 
The gratitude declare 
That glows within my ravished heart ! 
But thou canst read it there." 

Some of the precious results of the cleansing power 
of Jesus in my soul have been, — 

1. A sacred nearness to God my Saviour. The dis- 
tance between God and my soul has appeared annihi- 
lated, and the glory and presence of divkiity have often 
appeared like a flood of sunlight, surrounding, pene- 
trating, and pervading my whole being. Glory be to 
God, that even the most unworthy may be " brought 
nigh by the blood of Christ." 

2. A sense of indescribable sweetness in Christ. The 
fact that he is " the rose of Sharon ; " " the lily of the 
valleys ; " " the brightness of his [the Father's] glory," 
\\\\ " is altogether lovely," has at tines so penetrated 



308 the author's experience. 

my soul as to thrill and fill it with ecstatic rapture. 
how glorious and lovely has the dear Saviour appeared 
to my soul, and how strong the attraction my heart has 
felt toward him ! Often his glory has shone upon my 
soul without a cloud. 

3. A deep, realizing sense of the reality of spiritual 
things. Bible truth has appeared as transformed into 
solid reality. Tho doctrines of the gospel have become 
to me tangible facts, and my soul has triumphed in 
them as an eternal verity. 

4. A surprising richness and fullness of meaning in 
the Scriptures, which I had not before realized. Many 
portions of the word, which I had hitherto but little 
understood, and taken but little interest in, now ap- 
peared full of meaning, and exceedingly precious to 
my soul. The following passages have been applied 
many times to my soul with great power : " And I will 
pray the Father, and he shall give you another Com- 
forter, that he may abide with you forever ; even the 
Spirit of truth, whom the world can not receive, because 
it seeth him not, neither knoweth him ; but ye know 
him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" 
... a If a man love me, he will keep my words ; and 
my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, 
and make our abode with him" . . . " Now ye are clean 
through • the word which I have spoken unto you. 
Aoide in me, and I in you. As the branch can not 
Dear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more 
can ye, except ye abide in me." . . . " But if wo walk 
in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship 



THE author's experience. 309 

one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his 
Son cleanseth us from all sin." . . . " God is love ; 
and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and Goa 
in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may 
have boldness in the day of judgment; because as 
he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in 
love ; but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear 
hath torment. He that feareth is not, made perfect 
in love" 

5. A complete satisfaction and resting in Christ. 
Since then there has been no favorable response from 
within to temptations from without. Before I often 
found elements in my heart siding, with the tempter, 
and felt that all was not right within. There appeared 
to be an aching void, or a place in my soul, which grace 
had never reached. 

But since Jesus sent the refining fire through and 
through my poor heart, I have been sweetly assured 
that grace has permeated every faculty and fiber of my 
being, and scattered light, love, and saving power 
through every part. Hallelujah to God ! I have found 
satisfaction, rest, and exultation in Christ. 

6. A great increase in spiritual power. This I have 
realized in my closet devotions, in my pastoral duties, 
and especially in the ministrations of the blessed truth. 
Blessed be the Lord, I have learned by experience that 
men may receive the Holy Ghost in measure limited only 
by their capacity to receive, and feeble ability to endure. 
God could easily bless men beyond the power oF the 



810 THE author's experience. 

body to endure and live, if he were disposed to take 
them to heaven in that way. 

This increase of power has delivered me from all 
slavish fear of man, or of future evil. It has given me 
such a love to the Saviour and to his glorious gospel a^ 
to make all my duties sweet and delightful. Truly 
" Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her patht 
are peace." 

7. A clear and distinct witness of purity through the 
blood of Jesus. The testimony of the Holy Spirit, and- 
of my own spirit, to the entire sanctification of my 
soul, has been more clear and convincing than any I 
ever had of my regeneration ; although I had no doubts 
of. that for years before the Lord extirpated inbred 
sin from my soul. " Meridian evidence puts doubt to 
flight." 

Dear reader, how I wish I could tell you how clear 
and sweet the light of purity has shone through the 
very depths of my soul ! How I wish I could tell you 
the complete satisfaction I have realized* since I ob- 
tained this pearl of great price ! If I could only tell 
you all about the full and perfect love of Christ ! But. 
0, it can never be told ! Its fullness, its richness, and 
its sweetness can never be expressed ! You can know 
it only by experience, and this is your solemn duty and 
most exalted privilege. Will you not seek it ? Will 
you not begin now? A holy life is the happiest life, 
the easiest life, and the safest life you can live. 0, 



THE AUTHOR'S EXPERIENCE. 311 

be persuaded to settle the matter at once, and begin 
now to seek for purity, and never yi4d the struggle 
until you obtain the glorious victory ! 

It may cost you a severe struggle ; but victory will 
be yours, if you only persevere. When you have once 
become fully decided that yctu will never cease conse- 
crating, praying, and believing until you have ob- 
tained the blessing, you will have surmounted your 
greatest difficulty, and it will not be long before the 
streams of pure love will flow through the depths of 
your soul. / 

But, dear Christian reader, in seeking for this price 
less blessing, do not attempt to measure yourself by 
any thing peculiar in the experience of the writer, or 
of any other person. (See Sec. IX. Ques. 67.) The 
Bible is our only rule of faith and practice. There are 
various operations of the Spirit in effecting the same 
work in the human heart. 

In this narrative of my religious experience I have 
endeavored to give a simple statement of facts, regard- 
less of what mistaken good men, or wicked men, may 
think or say. I would as soon deny God as to flee be- 
fore the offense of the cross, or flinch or quail under 
the reproach of Christ. Like Peter and John, I " can 
not but speak the things which I have seen and heard." 
I fully believe that to continue in the enjoyment of 
perfect love, I must confess the whole, and take the 
consequences. Call it delusion who may ; a blessed 
reality it is to my soul. I know it. I feel it. I 



312 the author's experience. 

have proved it, and I must declare it. I am con* 
strained to 

" tell to all around 
Of the dear Saviour I have found." 

With the grace of God, I intend to " stand up straight 
for Jesus ; ,? though 

" devils rage, and hell assail, 
I'll fight my passage through ; 
Though foes unite, and friends all fail, 
111 seize the crown in view." 

I shall be jealous of my own testimony if it does not 
stir up the devil. 

I have tried, with all humility, to look to God for 
guidance, and have felt his blessing resting upon mo 
while writing. I have not written so much for the 
critic's eye, as for those who are panting after holiness. 

During many years of my religious experience, I 
feared lest I should profess too much, or more than I 
possessed ; but since the Saviour cleansed and filled 
my soul with perfect love, I have had no fears in that 
regard. The intense sweetness, the superior excellence, 
and the divine glory of the perfect love of Jesus can nev- 
er be exaggerated, nor, indeed, fully described. Thou- 
sands in the church of God, who have received this 
baptism of love and power, can testify that the most 
glowing description any mortal can give of it falls infi- 
nitely short of the reality. 

When any soul can truthfully say, as Mrs. President 
Edwards did, " My soul is filled and overwhelmed with 



THE author's experience. 313 

light) and love, and joy in the Holy Ghost, 1 there is no 
danger of exaggeration. 

I might have written much more in regard to my 
weakness, unworthiness, and imperfections, and would 
have done so, had I supposed it would honor Christ 
more than to write about the fullness of his grace, and 
the riches of his love. 

My experience is not my own, and it is in the hope 
that my humble testimony to the fullness and freeness 
of the grace bestowed upon me, the most unworthy, 
may encourage and lead others to avail themselves of 
this fullness of Christ, that I record my experience of 
the perfect love of Christ. I have given but a brief and 
imperfect sketch, a mere outline, of the mercies that 
the Lord has heaped upon his poor servant. To him 
be all the glory. 

Dear reader, seek holiness. At all hazards seek it. 
Expect no rest until your soul is made " free indeed " 
in the blood of Jesus. And when once you have tasted 
the blessedness of purity, you will never be able to be 
sufficiently thankful that you were induced to seek it. 
If you do not seek it, the period is not distant when you 
will never be able to forgive yourself for the neglect 

And now, reader, " I commend you to God, and to 
the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, 
and give you an inheritance among all them which are 
%anetijied" 



314 PERFECT LOVE. 



CONCLUSION, 



In conclusion, dear reader, " I bow my knees unto 
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole 
family in heaven and earth is named, that he would 
grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be 
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man ; 
that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith ; that you, 
being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to com- 
prehend, with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, 
and depth, and hight, and to know the love of Christ, 
which passeth knowledge, that you might be filled with 
all the fullness of God. Now unto Him that is able to 
do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, 
according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be 
glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, 
world without end." And " the God of peace, that 
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great 
Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the ever- 
lasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work 
to do his will, working in you that which is well pleas- 
ing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory 
forever and ever. Amen." 



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